From a fighters point of view, the whole experience has been fantastic from start to finish.
Whether we succeeded or not in the competitions, we should all be proud of taking part and give thanks to having the opportunity to compete. There were many lessons learned and one of them for me is to have your feet taped up while training! Even though there were some handy tips given to tape up the toes to stop blisters. We could have done with taping up our whole feet as we suffered with bad blisters! Obviously not helping with being 100% fit for fighting..... I myself had to tape my feet up, then only to be told to take it off for the first fight.... 1st minute ok until I tried to score with a gak then half my foot came off...I was dancing around ok up to that point!
Gareth on the other hand, was leaving blood trails on the mats so really felt for him. It really is worth looking after your feet leading up to the competition as that's when you most need them!!
The atmosphere on the Saturday was electric, from the minute you arrived outside to the minute you leave....it just buzzed all day!
Just in case any of our younger students are reading this blog....I would like to say they could learn a lesson or two from the Japanese children. I was very impressed by their focus, determination and skill they showed. They looked like miniature adult fighters and I can see why the Japanese are such proficient fighters!
We attended the Wado Ryu party in the evening which was held at a hotel near to the event. I very much enjoyed the fresh sushi fish and other offerings of great food....shame we couldn't do the drinks much justice as we had to fight the next day :(
Sunday was very much more quiet event as only selected teams were taking part from around the world. The morning was taken up with the finals from the previous days event. Craig Hill did very well in the men's individual kata event coming 7th. The standard was very good indeed and anyone competing could feel they were up against stiff competition to even get this far.
As far as the fighting went this day.... Jamie Bowen came 3rd in the mens under 65kg kumite, the rest of us were eliminated in the 1st & 2nd rounds. Win or lose we can all take something away from this experience for next time and some of us its the last! I think we were all a bit deflated, I know I certainly was, but at the end of the day it has been a fantastic trip and one I will never forget.
For the rest of the day we enjoyed watching what was left of the fighting, the Japanese had pretty much swept the board! I had captured a lot of the fights on cam and photo's so hope that can give some idea as to the skill they are respected for.
Japan is a great place to travel to and would definitely go again....as we didn't get to go to Kyoto.
I recommend getting a train pass and see as much as you can. Tokyo is a big place and we did try and see as much as we could in the little time we had. Even with blisters on my feet I still had to see as much as possible, we still have lots more to see. I mentioned the rail pass, this can only be bought over here, it is not available in Japan as its for travellers only. I didn't know that it included the many lines available in Tokyo too. When it came to buy a ticket to Kyoto we found it too expensive for just two days travel. It might if we had known about the metro being included, as it is we made the most of having another couple of days there and I was on a made dash to find a Japanese puzzle box. Luckily we found one in a great shop at the airport and some other cool souvenirs.
Highlights of the trip
- Getting engaged
- Training at the universities
- Competing in the two days events
- Meeting new friends and catching up with old ones
- Getting to know another country and its people on their own turf!
- Trying the local foods...raw tuna...yum!
- Showing people with new camera's how to actually use them ;)
- Getting a picture of myself with Sensei Shiomitsu.
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