Dr Faustus

As I said earlier today, in the last year we’ve travelled widely.  On most of those visits Kik and I have managed a goodly amount of dojo time.  Mostly Iaido for Kik and a 50-50% split for Iaido and Jodo for me.  In fact, there are very few people within Seitei circles in Australia (even amongst the high-grades) who been given the exposure to high-level instruction we’ve had in the last year.  We’ve knocked upon Nagayama Sensei’s Sendai Dojo door on a few occasions for extra tuition (1).  We have also knocked on other Dojo doors and Kik’s favourite Sensei is a little, old, irascible 8^th Dan Hanshi in Gifu, Japan.

All this high level instruction means we’ve been able to progress skills beyond our pay grades but has the queasy effect of us feeling rather out of place within our grade-groups, at times.  Internationally, Seitei have definite periods you must wait between gradings.  Between 2^nd and 3^rd Dan gradings, there is an obligatory period of two years.  This is to ensure, with one or two sessions a week, you can bridge the skill gap between 2^nd and 3^rd.   Extra tuition, especially from Nagayama Sensei, has hot-housed us both in general and placed me, in particular, in the very uncomfortable position of being told (by Sensei) to “fix” the Jodo defects in some senior grades.  Now to everyone who knows me, this is not ‘me’ and I’ve said I’m uncomfortable doing this but Sensei insists: I’ll do it because he says so.  (I tried to say to him “please, no” but his consequences of my refusal were not tolerable, for me.)

I’d like to say this is the worse that could happen but it isn’t and now I have to prepare like crazy to pair with a fellow Australian for his grading in Akita, Japan, this November.  He’s going for his 4^th Dan.  I’m just there as a foil to make sure he looks good (and not stuff up myself).   So, I have to act the higher-grade bit even though I’m not, there is a shit load of responsibility to wear if he fails (and I’m to blame) and absolutely no benefit outcome other than helping Sensei out.  It’s do-able, I’m fairly confident, but there is a slightly strange flavour to it all.    

There is one and only one reason I’ll do all this and that is knowledge -  the ‘secret stuff’.  I’ve sold my soul for this to Sensei and the price I have to pay is to do what he says.  Again, be careful what you ask for….

Kik, myself and Nagayama Sensei.  A rare picture of him smiling.

(1)  Up until even a few months ago I used to say “I consider Nagayama Sensei to be my Sensei but if you asked him he’d say I wasn’t his student”.  This I feel has now changed and I count myself fortunate he considers me to be, if not his student, then someone who he feels some need to coach.  OK, he has many, many direct students but I still feel fortunate. (As an aside, I can’t, for the life of me, work out just when I actually started following him.  It just sort of…happened.) 

Chalk & Cheese (2)

There’s an uncomfortable déjà vu feeling associated with my last two weeks here at work.   Perhaps this is due to being exactly in the same position, fulfilling the exact same duties, as this time two years ago.  That was the previous time where I refused to extend my contract and stay on.  That period of ‘retirement’ lasted about five months before I capitulated to a request to return.  To be fair, Franki (my Manager),  is very tolerant of the manner in which I manage my small team of people.  He also knows the job isn’t a cushy number: this Engineer has to work for a living rather than time-serve.  Between you and me, he’s already asked me when I might possibly be able to return (but don’t tell Kik, my long-suffering Wife).

Kik, my rock and foundation.

The work tends not to leave me much in the way of a quiet few minutes to write any blogs.  I guess that’ll change when I ‘retire’ shortly.  And therein lies a little quandary. We’ve gotten used to being paid as much as they are prepared to pay and our travel lifestyle is going to suffer.  Let me see if I can explain it.

In the last year we’ve been to the UK (twice), Japan (twice), New Zealand (once), Perth (three times – don’t laugh as it’s a four hour flight away) plus other short trips to Tassie, Canberra and Cairns.  Now, out of the blue, I’ve also been asked to perform a role above my martial arts pay-grade which means Kik and I have to travel to Japan again towards the end of this year (this I’ll explain in another blog).  Not that we are extravagant, but all of this travel doesn’t come cheap.  Although Kik has a personal investment income it is not sufficient to carry on the jet-setting lifestyle.  What to do?

Well, let me dig my heels in right now and outright refuse to act my age and ease back gracefully.  There’s only one thing I can do.  Work at the desk for 6 months then sit on my tractor for 6 months.  Chalk and Cheese.

(From R to L)  Kik, Jenna (my Daughter) and Natalie (Jenna’s friend) on the farm.