買電池 電池を買って Buying batteries

今天我去超級市場買菜的時候決定要買電池。兩個電池的包裝$1.19，降價成$1.00。八個電池的包裝$5.69，降價成$5.29。我站在那裡快五分鐘，搞不懂為什麼一次買八個電池反而比較貴，一直以為是我的算術太差。^_^;;

今日僕が電池を買いました。二つは$1.19, セールのかげで$1.00. 八つは$5.69, セールのかげで$5.29。僕が考えて、なぜ八つの電池は二つより高いました。また僕の数学が悪かったになりました。^_^;;

Today I decided to buy some batteries at the supermarket. The two battery package was $1.19, with a sale down to $1.00. The eight battery package was $5.69, with a sale down to $5.29. I stood there for about five minutes trying to figure out why the eight battery package was more expensive per battery. I kept thinking I was making math mistakes. ^_^;;

P.S. The Japanese for this post was horrid. :-p I would appreciate any feedback and corrections.

Swinging again... kinda...

I got shoulder surgery on 11/16/2007 on my left shoulder to fix my dislocating problem. I was in a harness until last Tuesday, 12/18/2007. I started physical therapy on 12/11.

It's a weird feeling. After being in the harness for just a couple of weeks, coupled with the trauma of surgery, my arm motion has become very limited. It's like my mind tells me to raise my arm, but it just doesn't quite move. :-p I am doing much better now with therapy though. My friend James, whose father is also an orthopedic surgeon, said his father used to say that physical therapists have to be willing to inflict more pain on their patients so things improve, lol. Somewhat scary, but true and logical. :-)

The other day, while doing my physical therapy wand exercises at home using my shinai, I decided to try to swing it. First it was with both hands, which was a strange feeling. I was trying to swing correctly, yet use mostly my right hand, which is completely opposite of what kendo teaches... :-p Then I got more ambitious, and was actually able to swing my shinai with only my left hand, albeit VERY slowly.

Here's to hoping I recover in time for the Detroit tournament in February...

Noma Dojo (野間道場)

The disassembly of Noma Dojo (野間道場).

I was only there once, but it still affects me greatly. I could feel my eyes tear up as I see the pictures of the ground underneath the floor. I will always remember what I learned there and the stories I have of my experience. I look forward to visiting the new hall with a heavy heart and open mind.

Illini basketball without the Chief

Last Tuesday I went to an Illini exhibition basketball game with Melvin. The game itself is nothing spectacular. We won handily (thank goodness; a lot of Div I teams have been losing to Div II teams this preseason for some reason), there were a LOT of substitutions since the players were still being evaluated, and Bruce Weber even got mad at the effort on the court at one time.

But what really stuck in my mind was halftime. Halftime without the Chief.

I never went to a basketball game at Cal, so Illinois was my only live experience for college basketball game. Although I don't have strong feelings for the Chief, it was odd to watch a game without his performance. The band started playing during halftime and I was like "Wait, why isn't the Orange Crush surrounding the court? Isn't this the Chief set?" And it was. The band played the whole set and people sang during the song, but it felt odd, empty. Not only that, but halftime felt even longer and more boring.

Melvin and I talked about how long it would last. My guess is 4 years. When the stadium is filled with students that haven't seen the Chief live, I believe the Chief will "die."

10/28/2007 Indianapolis Dojo Visit

Thoughts and learnings from 10/28/2007 Indianapolis Dojo visit. A very big thank you to Sugawara sensei (菅原先生) for taking the time to teach us and to give us this opportunity.

Seme (攻め):

• I may be applying my seme (攻め) too strongly. I may need to ease from "as much as possible" to "strong" from time to time, almost like a feint so my opponent feels like he has an opportunity to attack.
• All too often I apply seme (攻め) trying to make my opponent think I'm targeting a specific target and then hit another one. In retrospect that's stupid and what people would expect. I should consider applying seme (攻め) such that my opponent can not tell what target I will attack.
• The times that I attack and fall short, it's probably because I had shifted my balance backwards while reacting to my opponent's seme (攻め) , which slows down/shortens my attack. Also, my opponent is ready to shift back after applying seme (攻め).

Tsubazeriai (鍔ぜり合い):

• I am not approaching tsubazeriai (鍔ぜり合い) as an opportunity for ippon (一本). I am looking to back out, reset, then get ippon (一本). This is not good. I should make my efforts from tsubazeriai (鍔ぜり合い) towards scoring ippon (一本).
• I need to practice more hiki waza (引き技). Think about how many times I have practiced kihon Men (基本面), just to get to this stage.
• Backing up a step from tsubazeriai (鍔ぜり合い) is like stepping in from issoku ittou no maai (一足一刀の間合い). It is stepping in to the maai (間合い) or distance from which an attack can be made instantaneously. I need to be extra careful then.
  
• Observe your opponent practicing hiki waza (引き技) in order to better know when an opponent is about to attack/retreat. Then practice either evading/hiki waza (引き技) at the same time or counter and chase.
• New practice for hiki waza (引き技) 1: Motodachi (元立ち) does hiki Men (引き面) while shidachi (仕立ち) attempts to hit hiki Dou (引き胴) at the same time. This should help teach when your opponent is going to attempt hiki waza (引き技).
• New practice for hiki waza (引き技) 2: Motodachi (元立ち) attempts hiki Dou (引き胴). Shidachi (仕立ち) blocks and counter with hiki Men (引き面). Another variation could have motodachi (元立ち) attack other targets instead, I think.