My Year as a Blogger

When I started this blog I was nervous about writing online. I've wrote for fun and I keep a journal, but I've never put anything online. I also didn't feel like I would have anything to say. But now since I've gotten comfortable with blogging I want to start a personal blog. I'm surprised that I only got stuck like two times the entire year. I had a lot to say about tournaments, trainings, and the soul of Karate. I also decided to take Journalism next year. I've always liked writing, ever since I was in elementary school. In 1st grade I won a competition, asking the entire school from kindergartners to the fifth graders to write a short story about sea creatures, African animals, or birds. I chose sea creatures and won a sea animal display (that I still have). In 3rd grade I wrote a 500 page story about an American Indian girl. The teacher would take about 15 minutes out of each class for me to read my story to the class. And in 5th grade I won a book contest and got to take home a giant, honestly twice my size, stuffed dog. By the way I still have that too. So I've had a lot of fun reading and writing my whole life. I love to read, I read all the time; before I sleep, tanning in the sun, on the bus to a game, airplanes, staging, I love books. I think people who read are more intelligent than people who say reading is boring. I'm not saying I'm super smart or anything but generally. The face people give me after I respond "no" after they ask, "oh are you reading that for school?" is all too familiar. For each person there's at least one book that can change your life. So since being in Honors English I've read a lot of different books that I wouldn't normally pick up. But I surprised myself by connecting to these books. Overall my experience in Honors English and writing this blog has been a good one. 

Photo curtesy of www.123rf.com

Vegas USA Open

Photo curtesy of www.teamusa.org

USA Open is the largest tournament in the entire United States, people from all over the world come to compete in it. Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Ukraine, Japan, Russia, Venezuela, and tons of other teams came.

Day one was all kata I was competing in the Elite 15 year old girls division. I went up against a girl who was a former Pan Am Champion, I lost 2-3, then I waited to see if she would win again and she did. But in her third round she lost so I was out. My kata experience was short lived in US Open but then again there's always next year.

The next day was kumite, I won my first fight against a girl from New York. Then I lost my next round against a girl with trees for arms and legs. She has twice the reach I had. But she went onto the finals and I had to fight Venezuela. She was also tall and had a smooth cream porcelain doll face, and long light brown hair. I lost again. 

My last event of the weekend was team Kumite. For those of you who have no idea what team Kumite is don't worry I will explain. So Kumite is fighting so team Kumite is fighting with a team. But its not like a whole bunch of people fighting at the same time, I know that would be fun to watch. The teams are made up of 3-4 people. Each person from your team fights a person from another team. The two teams have three matches and whichever team wins two out of three of the fights wins. But if there's a tie, say team one won the first round and team two won the second then the third round tied, then it would come down to which team scored the most points. It's a little confusing but really fun to watch. I was fighting for team USA. Up first was Team Venezuela vs. Team Canada. Canada won because they're all six foot tall beasts with beautiful hair put in a ponytail braid. Then it was Team USA vs. Team Japan. Up first from my team was Rachel, she has a great reverse punch put she pulls her head which causes her to get hit a lot. She's the only person I know that has had six concussions from Karate. Anyways she wins her fight then it's my turn. I go out feeling confident and win 5-3. Since we already won two fights we go onto the finals against another USA team from California. Lexi goes first and wins her match. I'm second and I go against a girl I remember (specifically for her bad sportsmanship) from a tournament in Colorado. I start off and get two points then another one. She scores a punch so the score is 3-1. Then I score a head kick and that really made her mad. After that she started coming after me and knocked me down. Then as I'm on the ground she kicks me in the side. Who does that? So as you can probably see I was pretty mad and my ribs hurt, I get up and make a move towards her but restrain myself from punching her in the nose. She flinched pretty hard so I grinned as I walked over to my line. Thank god time ran out because I probably would of lost it. I go over to shake her hand but she turns her back and walks out of the ring. I shrug and walk out, my teammates stare wide eyed they say they've never seen such a disrespectful fighter. After a few deep breaths I start to relax. Our last match Rose, she is ahead the entire match until the last 10 seconds when the other girl scored a kick and won. Which mean the team from California wins gold and we win the silver. Even though we lost it was still the most fun event of the weekend. It's something about winning for your team, and having them cheer for you that it so powerful and fun.

Vegas Junior International Cup

Photo curtesy of www.teamusa.org

Recently I went to vegas for the 4th year in a row. In Vegas there is two tournaments going on in the time span of five days. First, was the Junior International Cup a fairly large tournament but mostly American competitors. That tournament lasts two days with kata on the first day and kumite on the second. So on the first day I woke up at 8:30 and walked over to the Paris where the venue was. Which was very convenient that we were only staying seven minutes away. Yeah but not in the fancy, bright casino, put a small mint on your pillow type Vegas hotel. No, we stay at the Jockey Club. Never heard of it? Don't worry no one else has either. The Jockey Club was built in 1974 one of the oldest hotels built on the strip. It's main customers are old people from the south that come to Vegas to gamble and smoke all day long. I'm not saying the Jockey Club is a horrible place, I mean the beds are comfortable, there's a full kitchen, and enough room for my family of seven so really it's the perfect place for us when we come for the tournament. But for your weekend getaway I wouldn't recommend it. 

So anyway first day we walk over to the Paris. First up is my brother, he's in the 10-11 year old boys division and it is stacked. There is about 30 kids in his division and they all look fierce. A couple hours later my sister goes up in the 12-13 year old girls division. Then shortly after I get called to staging (where you go to wait to be assignment a mat) for the 14-15 year old girls division. Surprisingly I only have to wait for about 15 minutes to go out. A lot of the girls I recognize from regional tournaments or Vegas last year. So I start warming up and getting my mind ready. Then it's time, we walk out in a single file line, bags stuffed with equipment, snacks, water, headphones slung over our shoulders. We sit next to a mat and wait for a boys division to end. Then we bow to the United States flag bow to the referees and start. I go third against a girl that I've never seen before. I win the match 4-1, next match against a girl I remember from last year, I win again 3-2, next match the semi-finals I go up and stumble slightly and scream to myself on the inside but I go on and finish strong, praying that the judges happen to be blinking. I walk back out and wait for the flags I win again and now I'm put into the finals.

But I'm going against my good friend from Florida, she doesn't favor kata but is still naturally good at it. So her dad makes her do it. She goes first and does an amazing kushanku then it's my turn I decided to do my newest kata that hasn't been out on the mat very often it has a 360 jump that is very difficult to land perfectly. I stuck the jump and won the vote. Now with the first day out of the way the stress levels go way down. Now it was time for more pasta, showers, and bed time.

Now onto day two, kumite. I started off good and won my first two matches and got to the semi-final round but then lost. Then I lost again going for 3rd place. The girls were all really great fighters and I feel lucky to meet and compete with them. 

Training Karate in Japan

Training in a traditional Japanese Dojo was a crazy experience. For one they didn't speak any english so trying to understand what they were saying was fun. Also, they are much more strict and formal. The first class we attended was full of 7-10 year olds. We bowed in, then warmed up. After we were warm we were told to get in groups of three, so I went with Daniel and Ari. They handed us three different sized pipes, a large, medium, and small. Then we put the pipes down and attempted to balance on them. After about 30 seconds we would switch. At first it seemed easy but after about three rotations our feet were aching. After we worked on balance, we started doing kata. It was amazing how accurate and sharp the young kids were. Unlike american kids that do karate that are sloppy and uncoordinated and can barley remember the moves (no offense american kids). I can just imagine how good they will be once they're adults. The next class we went to was for older kids ages 11-14. In that class I grouped with two girls they were both 12. As we did the drills they giggled at me because I couldn't understand what the teacher was saying. Some of the other kids spoke a little english but were too shy to talk to us. The third class we went to was for teenagers and adults. At the beginning everyone ran over and grabbed a helmet. In our dojo we don't wear helmets and my parents never made me wear one so wearing it for the first time was awful. It was hot and sweaty and itchy. I felt like I could barely breathe. Also the helmet threw my depth perception off majorly. I would try and kick and miss by two feet. So it took me awhile to adjust. After three classes in a row we were tired and starving. I'm grateful for the experience and that the Japanese people put up with us dumb americans. 

Buddhism is Incredible

Photo I took of the Sensō-ji temple

I am in love with the Japanese temples. I may not be buddhist but I still love learning about different religions and how they effect a culture. While I was in Japan I was lucky enough to be able to see the Sensō-ji temple. This temple is the oldest in Tokyo. Known to people all over Japan as the temple of the Asakusa Kannon, it draws some 30 million visitors every year. This particular temple is a place where people go to be relived of suffering, and to pray of kindness. The smoke you see in my gif is coming from a giant pot in the center of the path. It is full of coal slowly burning. When we walked by we watched as people put their hand in the smoke and fanned it up and over to the back of their head. A bit confused I asked our friend (a local who was showing us around) what they were doing. She said that the smoke cleanses you of evil spirits and brings you good fortune for the rest of your life. After being told this we all waved the smoke over our heads. 


Over here we have the Kaminarimon, the giant red lantern (chōchin). It was first built in 941 by Taira no Kinmasa, a military commander. Since then it has been burned down, and destroyed many times. Yet it has been reconstructed over and over again. On the front of the gate, the statues of the Shinto gods Fūjin and Raijin are displayed. Fūjin, the god of wind, is located on the east side of the gate, and Raijin the god of thunder is located on the west side. In the picture it's hard to tell but the lantern is huge. When you walk underneath it there's a carving of a dragon on the bottom of the lantern. Going back to the origin of the Sensoiji Temple, legend says that when two brothers caught the statue of the Buddha in their net, a dragon with shining gold scales appeared. Therefore, this dragon carving in the lamp represents the dragon as another god watching over the temple. Also, the town Asakusa had weak wood houses and buildings that would easily catch on fire. So the dragon would help protect the town from fire destruction. 

Japan

Japan was amazing! It is so different there, but still in many ways the same. Here are some of the things that I noticed while I was there. So first of all everyone is very friendly. Everywhere we went people would help us with directions and smile at us. And waving! Everyone waves it's the greatest thing. One time we tried to play the wave game (you wave at people and get a point if they wave back but loose a point if they don't). But it was pointless since everyone waved back. 

Sushi Bar in Japan

Also, the food there is amazing, my favorite was the ramen noodles. One night we went to a very traditional Japanese restaurant, they served us baby squid, bamboo, raw salmon, and neon pink rice cakes. It was... interesting. Another place we went that was very unique was the sushi bar. You go and sit down at the bar and sushi plates go by you on a moving conveyor belt. When you see something that looks tasty you simply grab it. The price is determined by the color of the plate it's on. After you've had your fill a waitress comes to your table and counts up your plates. It was way different from anything I've seen in the states. 

It's amazing how many people live there, 127.3 million to be exact. Everywhere you go there's people. Another thing I found really cool is the buildings. In the city everything is really compact and tall. The department stores have multiple floors with different products on each level. Level one is make up, level two shoes, level three dresses and so on. Many of the stores we went to were structured like this. 

Umbrella holder

Some things we saw on the street were interesting, like everywhere there's umbrella holders. You put in like 50 cents and lock your umbrella in place. It makes sense since it rains so much in Japan. The vending machines there are really different, they have tea vending machines, sandwich vending machines, honestly anything in a vending machine. 

The last thing that I really liked was all the bikers. People bike all over, moms even have a seat for their children on their bikes. There's bike parking everywhere too. 


So Japan is amazing and I hope that if you ever get the opportunity to go there you will because it is probably the coolest place I have ever been. 

Training with Akira Fukuda

Photo curtosy of JAPAN MARTIAL ARTS CENTER

It's been a day since the seminar with Sensei Fukuda and I can barely walk. After five hours of training on Saturday and four hours on Sunday I am ready to go crawl into a ball under about 40 blankets and never come out. You would feel the same if you had to hold the same stance for 10 minutes then move as fast as you can. We did this one drill where you squat down then jump up over someone and land squat down that move up into a stance. At the time it didn't feel that hard, but trust me I felt that drill the next day. Overall the Seminar was really good. I learned a lot of different concepts and new perspectives on Kata. 

So a little background on Akira Fukuda. At first, he wanted to be a professional surfer but soon realized that surfing had no chance of being in the Olympics. So he started Karate. Now he's the USA National Team Coach, he has 9 US National titles, he's a Pan American Games gold medalist, he was ranked top 4 in the World, and was awarded the Olympic Athlete of the year award. Originally he is from a Shotokan Dojo but throughout his life he has come to master  all five styles of Karate. Which is very rare these days, mostly people stay in one style or two max. But his unique knowledge of all the styles and other styles of Martial Arts (judo, wrestling, Taekwondo, etc.) made him the perfect candidate for the US Kata coach. 

So I'm very thankful for the opportunity to meet and train with such an inspirational person. Hopefully I will be able to train with him again.