Daily Life Part 4

So, in answer to YourMove's question on the kind of exercises we do during kendo warm up:

We start off just jumping up and down on the balls of our feet for 16 counts. Then we alternate between squatting with our knees facing outward and standing while bending over so that our heads are on a level with our knees for another 16 counts. Next we we stick our left leg out to the side and bend slightly over it and stretch that for 8 counts, then we switch legs and continue for another 8 counts. Then we squat on our right leg so that our bottoms hit our heel and stick the left leg out to the side for 8 counts and then switch for another 8 counts. Next we stand up and turn to the left, sticking our right leg slightly behind us with the foot flat on the floor and we bend the left leg forwards to stretch the calf. We do that for 16 counts and then we switch legs for another 16 counts. This is a really important stretch because your left calf is where the power comes from when you move in kendo.

Then we do this weird thing where we bend our arms at the elbow and rotate them around ourselves to stretch the arms. It's kind of hard to explain, sorry. Next we alternate between looking down and up for 16 counts. Then we lean our heads to the sides and alternate sides for 16 counts. Then we roll our heads around clockwise and counterclockwise for 8 counts apiece.

Next we take about a minute break then we pick up our shinai (the sword) and we do にきゅどう (nikyudou) for 20 counts. Then we take a short break and we do another 20 counts. Nikyudou is basically where you hold the shinai where the pommel is on level with your naval and the end is pointing at where you would strike a tsuki (throat) on another player. Then you step forward with your right foot and follow quickly with your left foot and make a men (top of the head) strike. Then you step back with your right foot and follow quickly with your left foot while making another men strike. Each men strike is a count.

Then we take another break and after that we do 20 counts of さんきゅどう (sankyudou). Sankyudou is basically the same as nikyudou except it's much faster, so you're practically jumping back and forth and your shinai moves much faster. Also you only do a men strike while going forward. Thank goodness, or my arms would have fallen off by now. Once we're finished with the 20th sankyudou we run through a men strike. So we make a men strike while pretty much stomping our right foot forward and sort of skipping through a couple more steps. Then we turn around and do it in the opposite direction.

I hope that answers your question. ^^

So I know have a bicycle and I've ridden it to and from school for the past two days now. This is the first time I've ridden a bike in about 10 years. Oh my goodness! My thigh muscles were so tight when I got off after riding it for the first time that I thought I was going to fall over! It takes me about 35 minutes to bike from my host family's house to school. My first day riding it was kind of rough. I accidentally hit my handlebar against a pole while trying to avoid a pedestrian during the morning. Then, at night, this guy was riding his bike in the middle of the sidewalk, so I moved over to try to avoid him, but my pedal hit this low concrete wall so I spilled over onto the wall. My leg got a bit scratched up, but the skin didn't break. However, my hand was not so lucky. I had put out my left hand to break my fall and I guess the wall cut it.

I didn't even notice the cuts until I was washing my face at home and the face soap that I use got into the cut and began to sting. They wouldn't be quite so bad if they weren't in such an awkward place. I have about 3 separate cuts on the inside of my middle finger where it is connected to my palm.

I tell you what though, Japan is going to kill me! Since I've gotten here I've acquired 7 blisters on my feet. I've also gotten minor injuries in kendo. See, the dojo has a wooden floor. And about a month ago when I had first started something sharp on the floor had sliced through a piece of skin on the underside of my foot where my big toe connects to the rest of my foot. I had accidentally bled on the dojo floor, too. I kind of felt bad about that...but on Tuesday night during practice I was doing the nikyudou by myself when I felt something sharp on my foot. I leaned down to examine the floor because the girls who had done up my foot last time had asked me where I had gotten the cut. Well, sure enough there was this rough spot between two of the boards, so I got one of my friends' attention and she insisted on looking at my foot. It turns out that I'd gotten a splinter in the middle of the exact same spot where I'd gotten that cut from the previous month. Just when it was starting to finish healing, too.

Otherwise, it's nice not having to pay for transportation now. ^^