Akwatic's Asian Odyssey

So a few things have happened to me lately, most of which are mundane and boring.  I'm still having the same problems at some of my schools, and am still having a great experiance at my other schools.  I am still training martial arts as much as possible and am trying to get to the gym as much as possible.  I'm planning a trip to Kyoto next week to see the fall leaves and to visit my sick blood brother in the hospital.  Unfortunately my camera broke, so it will be hard to keep posting pictures, and I won't be able to afford another one for a while since I got a new car that will take up some expences.  That is what this post is mainly for (I know Kate, I said I'd devote a blog just to you, but I'll do it on the next one, promise). 

 

So on Saturday, after waking up real early to go to taijutsu training, and taking a 3 hour train ride back to Ibaraki, I finally picked up my awesome 1999 Subaru Legacy B4.  I got this car as a gift, thats right a gift from one of my co-workers at my base school of Takahagi Advanced High School.  The only expenses were that I had to pay for the shakken, which is a bi-yearly inspection taht is mandatory in Japan.  It was about 20,000 yen, and then the insurance.  I also had to pay for my liscence, which was cheap and easy to get.  Its good to be Canadian, those poor Yankees have to do a road test that is probably the hardest in the modern word.  All I had to do was pay some money, wait for a few hours, get my eyes checked and get my picture taken.  Done and done!  Now I don't have to wake up at 6 am to get to some of my schools, and I have the freedom that my spirit craves!  Special thanks Nagayama-sensei for your great gift! 

 

More great things to come, so stay tuned to the Akwatic Asian Odyssey for more details.

peace   

So this is the first blog in my Wizdom series, and being a first post I must make some warnings.  The ideas I express in my wizdom blogs will probably be half-baked theories, ill though out and not properly explained.  They are my ideas only, and as such don't have much to back them up except vaguities (if this is even a word) and generalizations.  It may be possible for me to add proofs later, but I'm pretty lazy, so don't count on it!  However, if not for the sake of thinking them over myself, I will post them here so I don't lose them to the other mundane frivolous thoughts that often invade my mind.  I would love to hear what people have to say about what I post here, so please give feedback by posting a comment.

 

And without further ado, On the nature of knowledge, wisdom and truth (mostly written on the train on the way to martial arts teaining at 7:00am)

 

Knowledge is a thought and wisdom is a feeling.  As a feeling (and a true feeling, different from feelings we think we feel), wisdom is an intuitive insight into the way the universe is ordered (universal truth).  This feeling is felt with every fibre of being, right to the core, and indeed becomes part of ones being.  Thus a wise man can know nothing (sounds a little Taoist doesn't it?).  Although both the feeling component of wisdom and the thought component of knowledge are needed for living a righteous and fulfilling life (ie: knowledge is needed for pratical living and wisdom is needed for social and spiritual living) wisdom is a deeper form of truth than knowledge.  Knowledge is needed however, in order to communicate this feeling to others in a way that is both pertinant and meaningful to them, and in a way that they can understand and benifit from.  Indeed, what good is wisdom if it does not uplift others and help them to find their own inner wisdom?  

 

Therefore, knowledge and wisdom is a symbiotic relationship, each adding support to the other.  How does this relate to the nature of truth?  The mind and spirit is a much more powerful entity than we can ever fathom.  By feeling/believing/perceiving wisdom, we make it the truth (as long as it is true wisdom in accordance with the way of the universe).  In the same way that all matter is influenced by perception (string theory of quantum physics), truth is also altered by subjective feeling.  Therefore, as long as it is influenced by a true feeling/insight into the true nature of the universe, individual 'truths' can be somewhat different but at the same time correct. 

 

More rambling incoherent thought to come, so stay tuned to the wizdom thread of this great adventure: Akwatic Asian Odyssey.

May wisdom prevail in all your thoughts, felings and actions.

WARNING: This blog entry may seem a bit pessimistic, but its probably because today was the straw that broke the camel`s back so to speak.  That is, since I`ve been here there have been a steady culmination of problems that make it hard for me to enjoy teaching english at SOME of the schools I am sent to.  I have four schools, two of which I wish I could quit in order to concentrate my energies at the schools that actually seem to care about teaching and where the students actually seem to be getting something out of my presence. 

 

I`ll start out on a high note though, by explaining my involvment in the Super English language program at my base school, Takahagi Advanced Senior High School.  The Super English Language program, hereafter refered to as SELHi, is a new program just implemented by the Japanese govrenment last year to try a new type of english learning.  At Takahagi High, we have implemented an e-learning system that incorporates listening, speaking and writing in a net based format.  I really like being part of the SELHi program because it gives me a chance to be instrumental in the development of this program and create a way of learning english that will benifit Japanese students.  Since I have studied (and am still studying) many languages, I can contribute a unique perspective into what works and what does not work in terms of language learning from a practical point fo view.  In the past few weeks, we have had some dempnstrations of out "Team Teaching"; where the ALT (assistant language teacher) and the JTE (japanese english teacher) teach the class and officials from the Japanese ministry of Education and other scholars in the education field observe and critique.  During these meetings, I never feel like I am less of a teacher or that my opinion does not matter, on the contrary, my opinions and ideas are carefully considered.  Also, all of my collegues at Takahagi High are upbeat and capable teachers, and we actually teach as a team, instead of the workload being one sided as is the case with most other schools.  However, since I am only at Takahagi two days out of the week, it is difficult to do as much as I would like to help implement the SELHi program, or to make relationships with my students or the other teachers.  Since the SELHi english program is so intensive, it would be best to have an ALT attend only that school in order to facilitate a higher level of english learning. 

 

In contrast, the two lower level high schools I teach at, Isohara High School and Kita-Ibaraki High School are very difficult to work at since not only are the students a problem, but also some of the teachers.  In these high schools, most of the students do not want to go to university, and therefore do not care about learning.  In that sense, it is hard to motivate them to learn english.  This would not be so bad, except some of the teachers who are placed at these schools also do not care about their jobs and are "just putting in time".  This is one of the fundamental problems in the japanese education system in my opinion.  After Junior High School, students are streamed into different High Schools depending on their Junior High School grades, not based on where they live.  These High Schools are underfunded, and staffed with a different species of teacher, one that has lost faith in their job, and does not care about the education of their students.  This of course is a generalization, since there are also good teachers at these schools, however, the majority seem to be apathetic robots.  The students at these schools therefore, already have a worse chance in life of getting a good job, or a good education simply because they attend a school that has a lower standard of education.  The teachers at such schools are the most difficult to teach with since they often use the concept of "team teaching" as an excuse to do nothing.  This in itself is not so much of a problem, except that it is impossable to get a plan for the next week from them so I cannot even plan the lesson myself.  Usually I will arrive in the morning, and a teacher will plop a small worksheet if anything in front of me and say, "I want to do this, please make a lesson".  This is impossable and unacceptable in a team teaching atmosphere!  Also, discipline at these schools is another problem, since in general Japanese teachers tend to shy away from confrontation with students in the classroom.  In Canada, the right of everyone to learn is emphasized over the right of the individual, therefore if one student is misbehaving and making it difficult for others in the class to learn, they will be sent to the hall or some other such punishment.  In Japan this is unheard of: the right of the indivuidual student to attend class is emphasized over the right for everyone to learn, so there is virtually no discipline.  Even barring an extremly disruptive student from after school clubs and activities is seen as too strict!  In my case, at the lower level schools many students misbehave and do not pay attention in class.  However, I receive no help from the JTE in discipline and often have to be the one to make sure everyone is quiet.  This is compounded by the fact that I have so many schools and students (over 600 students i total I think) that it is impossable for me to make a relationship with the teachers or students (provided they want to which sometimes I doubt).

 

The solution: although it seems like giving up, or backing away from a challenge, the best situation would be for me to concentrate on the SELHi program and perhaps one other school.  This would not only allow me to get to know my students and fellow teachers better, but it would also allow me to concentrate my energies in one place and actually make a difference.  A large part of the JET program is international culture sharing, however with four schools, and the majority of the workload for many of them, teaching is strenous enough, let alone spending time with students after school to facilitate international understanding. 

 

Anyways, thats my gripe tis week, stay tuned for a more upbeat blog entry as soon as I get my car, which will be on the 20th.  I`ll probably be in a better mood then.......

Ak out 

Well, its been a while since I wrote a blog, and I hope you all enjoyed the words of knowledge from the Catalyst for Change (AKA David K Millar).  As for this blog, the main purpose is to talk about my latest Budo experiances, with an occasional sidetrack to complain about Japanese high school students, and perhaps to add other useless info about what I`ve been doing that has nothing to do with budo (but wait, what am i saying..... EVERYTHING has to do with Budo in some way!).  Anyways, two weeks ago I had my first class in a long time in the Bujinkan with Shawn Gray, in Toride.  It took me about 2.5 hours total to travel there, but it was worth it for sure!  Its been a while since I have done any Budo training so I`m looking foreward to getting into the swing of things again. 

 

For those of you who don`t know, I used to train in Karate untill the end of highschool, and received my shodan in Shidokan Karate-do under my first great sensei Roy Paul (who I still look up to this day as a great person and mentor).  After high school however, I felt like something was missing form my training in Karate, and sought something that would train my mind and spirit as well as my body.  I was also interested in learning more techniques with weapons, so I eventually found the Bujinkan.  What drew me to the Bujinkan was at first the Ninja aspect of it of course, I mean who doesnt want to dissappear in a cloud of smoke????  After delving deeper into the philosophy and teachings of Soke Maasaki Hatsumi I was even more convinced that this was the art I was searching for.  Budo is not just something you do, it is something you are (very similar to the essence of hip-hop culture as explained by the great KRS ONE).  In this sence then, training in the Bujinkan is aimed at training for life, to make you not only a better martial artist, but a better person as well.  (of course I`m too much of a bumbling idiot to even begin to explain exactly what Budo, or Ninpo, or anything related to these concepts is, so I`ll leave it to my betters, by posting links to websites etc. in a later blog)

 

But I digress.  Training with Shawn was great, and last weekend I went there again and had another graet training.  After training with Gray-sensei, I went on to another class by one of the shihan, Shiraishi-sensei.  This was an awesome experiance in its own right, since he is one of the best shihan under Hatsumi sensei.  Even though I am pretty poor at the techniques, he was always giving encouragement, and smiling with not only his face, but his heat as well.  Even though our group arrived 15 minutes late (we had a bit of trouble finding the location), he made us feel welcome and was very friendly.  During class he talked a lot about balance, and how to train to keep your balance not only in physical movements, but in life in general as well.  He said that if you train during a time that your mind is imbalanced, you are open to learning bad techniques, and will not make any progress.  If you work to cultivate a balanced mind first, and train with that in mind, then you will progress well.  He also said many other wise things that I have forgotten with my brain (hopefully i haven`t yet forgotten them with my gut!!), but next time i will bring a notebook to write down some things he says and my feelings during training. 

 

I`ve decided to make the pilgrimage to Toride and to Kasukabe on saturday for all day trainng every week now, or as much as I can (since I probably won`t be able to next week since I am receiving my new furnature).  Even though its costly and time consuming, I would travel much longer and spend much more money to do it for sure!

 

Also, I had my first Judo practice at Kitaibaraki High School yesterday (Monday Oct. 16th), and that was also great, but in different ways.  Personally at tis point it is hard for me to see the efficiancy of Judo movements, however, it has the potential to teach me alot about balance.  It was also good to build relationships with my students and fellow teachers.  Also, training included a rigoriuos workout including pushups, situps, squats and running, as well as isometric training for the legs.  This was great since on mondays the gym that I am a member of in Hitachi is closed.  I`m planning on doing that every monday as well, so now I`m up to two day or martial arts training a week.  Potential for the future: I met a guy at the Hitachi gym who teaches Arnis, a type of phillipino martial art, which sounds interesting, and I have made inquiries into training at the aikido dojo that Morihei Ueshiba (O-Sensei) lived in his last years.  There are some of his students teaching there still, which would be a great learning experiance to learn from them!

 

Well, I was also going to bore you with some fo the mundane things I did this weekend such as see the best fireworks I ahve ever seen in my life, and the status on my furnature that will come on next Saturday, as well as frustrate you with complaints about lack of discipline and sleeping high school kids.  However, look at the time, I must run to the train to get to the gym on time, so too bad, that will have to wait for another time. (Plus, I decided I didn`t want to sully the feeling of the illustriuos Budo blog with negativity about my working situation).  So stay tuned for: 1) More info on the japansese school system and lack of discipline in the Japanese classroom 2) more great knowledge from the master of rhetoric himself David K Millar himself, and of course 3) more awesome expliots on the journey that is the AKWATIC ASIAN ODYSSEY.

 

Untill then, peace, health, wealth and knowledge of self

Ak out

If nothing else, Glenn Beck serves as proof to the East that the Western world
is fully capable of producing it's own raving lunatics. Beck seems to see
himself as a champion of truth, unfazed by controversy as he tackles the
important issues facing America today. He gazes directly into the camera,
frequently removing his glasses in a “let's speak honestly to each other” styled
gesture. And he spews hate, although he would probably prefer the term
patriotism.

In a recent show, Beck denounced the “yes - but” attitude of those in the media
who represent Eastern or Muslim points of view. For example, to say “yes, using
suicide bombers is deplorable and has to end, but Israel must respect
international law in regards to their treatment of the Palestinian people” is
unacceptable, at least in Beck's world. To say “yes, the September 11 terrorist
attacks were both tragic and inexcusable, but so is American foreign policy” is
hogwash, and trivializes the suffering of those who died on that fateful day.
The only time Glenn Beck sees shades of gray is when he brushes his hair in the
morning; for Beck, the world is black and white, and America is good, and the
terrorists are bad - no buts.

Glenn Beck thinks everyone should listen to what he has to say about the Middle
East, even though he has admitted on air that he didn't give a “flying crap”
about the region before 9/11. He thinks that criticisms regarding America
backing Israel are “bogus” because what is happening in the Occupied Territories
is “not real”, just a “puppet show” aimed at “igniting the Middle East”. The man
even claims that the plight of the Palestinian people is similar to the plight
of African Americans today. And so, not surprisingly, an educated viewer such as
myself cannot help but think that Glenn Beck is an ignorant, motherless fuck.
Such a description, however, is far too kind. Glenn Beck is not ignorant; he
knows exactly what he's doing, and earns a handsome living by doing it.

While Beck may make his claims with a slightly more zeal than the average
American broadcaster, the overall message is not new. In the post 9/11 world, it
is unacceptable to attribute any semblance of rationality or legitimacy to the
terrorists or to their agenda. They are evil, they hate freedom and they want to
destroy America. And while Glenn Beck probably has a better understanding of
Middle Eastern affairs than he lets on, it really doesn't matter. There's an
audience for Beck's kind of rhetoric, people who don't want to have to change
the way they think about America's role in the world, and that's something he
understands completely.

David K. Millar