ok, so this poll ran for quite a while since i was on a hiatus of sorts. we had 31 respondants, and i have to admit that i am surprised by the results. only three people practice less than three hours each week. thirteen people practice between three and five hours. twelve people practice between five and ten hours. three hardcore taidoka practice…
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 storeâ€) run for some drinks. Since it was a nice day, I figured that, rather than drive…
This past weekend, I participated in the first ever Tokaido Regional Meet, and I had a great time (but I’m almost always having a great time). This tournament very much resembled the 2nd Kanagawa Meet I wrote about in February in a number of ways. First, it was held in the same location — the Tokai University Budokan. Second, the competitors, judges, staff,…
Unless there’s a damn good reason not to (like our 30th Anniversary Tournament last year), American Taido hosts a yearly practice excursion sometime during the summer. We load up the cars, stock up on beer, and drive the entire school to the beach for three days of practicing and partying together. Year after year, summer camp is…
Note: Lest I come off as if i were trying to sound like an expert, I should mention here that my Japanese is not great. I am not fluent in Japanese, but I am fluid in using Japanese to the degree I understand it. My Japanese language skills are exactly as good as they need to be in order to do…
