Snow way!

Waking up we found the car and tanbo behind us covered in snow... I know this is nothing compared to many people who visit this website, but please remember we live in Kyushu, located in Southern Japan.

I took this photo of my wife Mizuho from our apartment window. You can't see the mountain range in the background!

I've had a nasty cold for the last few days and have resorted to light kata to speed up my recovery. It is hard not to push myself, however I admittedly feel much stronger already. Perhaps the sudden cold spell has aided this also? The morning this photo was taken I didn't venture outside for my early morning practice (too cold & unwell). I stayed indoors and went through Bassai-dai, and Bassai-sho several times, playing with some variations, recently taught to me by some senior buddies in the JKA.

I feel like I'm back to square one with these kata (hence I asked to see my friends renditions), and haven't practised dai and sho kata together for 'many years'. If we train seriously, karate regularly tells us "we know nothing and that we must train more". Clearly if that is not the case, it is time to move on and use our precious time for other things.

© André Bertel, Japan 2008