Unfortunately I didn't recall much from the kihon-geiko in the morning session. But I do remember I felt gradually better.
Jigeiko
I was determined to do jigeiko with Ozawa-Sensei because the two previous times I could only do uchikomi-geiko. So I put on my men very quickly and was the third one in Sensei's line. I landed a couple of harai-men, with him nodding, but of course it was clear that he wasn't trying to fight me but to motivate me.
After another jigeiko with Kuroda-san, I was physically exhausted. So I took a early break.
Feedback:
- Ozawa-Sensei: More keiko!
- Kuroda: Bring shinai forwards, and don't raise it backwards because it takes too long to strike.
Jigeiko with Meguro-Sensei
During the lunch break I asked Ozawa-Sensei to sign the autograph for my copy of "the Definitive Guide". I thanked him and told him that I benefit a lot from this book. He said, he too.
Afternoon session
Kata. We didn't have time to go over everything ourselves, so we only practised Kata 1-5, with the rest demonstrated by Ozawa-Sensei and Potrafski-Sensei.
Afterwards was again the group training, during which we did more kirikaeshi and men-uchi. Very few people this time in my group because people were tired. I was exhausted too. But I wanted to hold until the end. However, I did have the nauseous feeling that I was about to throw up..
Takita, a Japanese 5th Dan sensei from Romania was leading our group exercise. He stressed the importance of raising the shinai with the shoulders. Since I couldn't move very fast at this point, I did very slowly and make sure my posture was good and the strike was firm and steady.
At the end of the kihon-geiko, I was so exhausted that I couldn't make the jigeiko. So I sat aside and observed.
Iinuma, Kuroda, me, and Takita
Party - talking with Sensei
There was the "Thany you" party in the lounge of a nearby hotel, which took about 20 mins walking. I was at the end of the crowd on my own enjoying a moment of silence and the evening air outside the sports hall when someone called me, "Mr. Liu." I turned around, and it was Ozawa-Sensei. We then started talking about various things: travelling in different countries, and what I do etc. It turns out that he has spent a month in Newcastle teaching kendo, and was at Imperial College London for a visit as well. (I lived in Newcastle for some time, and studied at Imperial College). It was very nice to talk to him as he's very friendly and talkative. He's English is also not bad, even though during the seminar he spoke only Japanese. I told him about my plan to visit Tokyo after my PhD study next year, and he told me that I'm very welcomed to come to his dojo. He gave me his card, and wrote his moblile phone no. on it. "Call me. Please don't loose it", he said, "If you loose then you can ask the Czech Kendo Federation for my contact." I received the card with both of my hands, very grateful and very suprised.
It turned out that we were enjoying ourselves and walking so slowly that all the others have arrived at the venue.
At the party I met another yondan Japanese working temporarily in Poland, Kenji Kawamoto. He is a very friendly and approachable person. Always smiling. We partnered up to participate in the "table football tournament", but unfortunately I had to leave before we could play because I was very tired and had headache.
I chatted to Yasuko (Iinuma) and Kuroda as well. They're both very fun people to talk to. Especially Kuroda has a funny sense of humour.
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