02/08/2006 In Miscellany, Taido/Blog by andy
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It’s finished. I am writing this from my new interim home with Negishi’s family in Yokohama. This will be my base for the next three weeks while I do a little traveling around the country before returning to Atlanta at the end of August. I’ve spent the last three years teaching English at a public junior high school in rural Myogi, Gunma Prefecture, and generally having a great time. The people in my town have mostly been fabulous, and my teaching gig was undeniably the high point of my working life thus far. It’s been a great ride, and I plan to come back several times as a guest, but I’ve determined that I do not belong in Japan.
It’s finished. I am writing this from my new interim home with Negishi’s family in Yokohama. This will be my base for the next three weeks while I do a little traveling around the country before returning to Atlanta at the end of August. I’ve spent the last three years teaching English at a public junior high school in rural Myogi, Gunma Prefecture, and generally having a great time. The people in my town have mostly been fabulous, and my teaching gig was undeniably the high point of my working life thus far. It’s been a great ride, and I plan to come back several times as a guest, but I’ve determined that I do not belong in Japan.
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10/08/2006 In Experiments / Ideas by andy
You never forget how to ride a bike - maybe I’m just extraordinarily stupid, but
I’ve proven that one wrong.
I was spending the weekend with a girlfriend in a small Japanese village and had volunteered to make a conbini (a wonderful little Jap-English corruption of “convenience store”) run for some drinks. Since it was a nice day, I figured that, rather than drive the two kilometers to the 7/11, I would just borrow my girlfriend’s bike and enjoy some fresh air. Things were going well for a few minutes. Then, as I was coming down the hill toward the store I realized that I couldn’t remember how to stop. “Oh, shit!”
You never forget how to ride a bike - maybe I’m just extraordinarily stupid, but
I’ve proven that one wrong.
I was spending the weekend with a girlfriend in a small Japanese village and had volunteered to make a conbini (a wonderful little Jap-English corruption of “convenience store”) run for some drinks. Since it was a nice day, I figured that, rather than drive the two kilometers to the 7/11, I would just borrow my girlfriend’s bike and enjoy some fresh air. Things were going well for a few minutes. Then, as I was coming down the hill toward the store I realized that I couldn’t remember how to stop. “Oh, shit!”
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30/08/2006 In Check It Out by andy
The following movies should be considered part of the training of any quality martial arts program. No, I’m not kidding. Get out of the dojo and do something entertaining. Watching movies requires very little work on your part and can seriously enrich your enjoyment of actual practice. My students used to love when I would quote Karate Kid after a killer workout. Anything you do to make your Taido more fun increases your chances of continuing to practice when you may be tempted to slack off. If you need to slack, run down to the video store and pick up one of these:
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