Unconnected Thoughts

It's getting hot in Japan. Really hot. I think I'll have to buy a summer gi and hakama just to survive.

Someone I haven't seen before has started coming to the Sunday dojo. He is huge, like, seriously fat. I don't know how he found a do to fit him. When he is in kamai he has to stretch both his arms out in front of him, and the end of his shinai rests on his do. He is 6th dan, and hits like lightning, but doesn't move much. He's also one of the nicest people I have met in Japan. He can speak English, and always brings fruit for everyone to eat at the end of practice. He told me with a grin that his wife cooks very good food.

Kotomi and I went to Grumpy sensei's son's house for dinner. He is 6th dan, and does very very strong kendo (he's grading for 7th dan in November). Although he is a very nice person (he always talks to us at the dojo) I think he's inherited the seriousness about kendo that radiates from Grumpy sensei. He had a little too much to drink (apparently all good sensei drink a lot) and started talking about the people he doesn't like at the dojo. These were generally the people that I do like, because they are carefree, happy, and not serious all the time, and take the time to practice with me. But perhaps for some people this kind of attitude is not an admirable thing. He also mentioned that he does not like the teacher at the Sunday dojo (Sensei sensei) because he does not do good kendo. I think there might be a little rivalry, or something like that, between the two dojos. Some people at the Sunday dojo do not speak well of Shimpukan. Oh well. I like them both. Some people can be a little too serious at times.