Johnny Esparza

Pre-English Weekend!

During my stay here, one of the students in charge of the English Langugae Club here organized what she called to be an "English Weekend." Here, both Japanese and International students gather to participate in activities and practice conversations over the span of 2 days. This past weekend, we had a Pre-English Weekend in which those who would be participating as staff members attended. This was also two days long, and we got to stay in an activities center owned by KGU. While there, we played some ice breaker games, put forth ideas, and really got to know everyone there.

As you can see from the pictures above, we had such a fun and crazy time! We successfully completed a 4 man push up, as well as managed to fit into lockers and cubicles! We also made a Human Pyramid! The guy you see on top, it was actually his birthday that day. The activity room we were in was really huge! Some of the students decided to have a Rolling Race to see who could roll from one end of the room to the other! It was suggested by one of the students from Canada, our mother figure of the group :) Even before we reached the activities center, several students commented about how she and the guy from Canada are like our parents! In this race, we had three countries competing. The girl from Canada, Danielle, on the right. One boy from Australia, Mark, on the left. And another boy from England, Niall, in the center. Who won? It's your call!

 

Sometime after this, we decided to play a few ice breaker games. One of the games we played was very similar to the one we played previously at Honors Orientation. They called it "Fruit Basket." Similar to the game "I like everyone, especially those who..." The only difference here is they just state a trait, and no intro dialogue. And when someone says "Fruit Basket," everyone gets up and runs to a different seat! Another very fun game we played (hint hint Ms. Loden!) was mentioned by the Canadians. They called it "Winking Murder." Please excuse the morbid title, but it was actually very fun!

The way "Winking Murder" works is with a circle of people, and one person is in the center. The person in the center is the Detective. One person in the circle, decided by the entire circle unknown to the Detective's knowledge, is the Murderer. The way this works is the Murder winks at other people in the circle. When someone in the circle is winked at, they fall pretending to have died. And the best part is they can make these deaths as dramatic as possible! The more dramatic, the better! The Japanese students sure had fun with that! As people fall, it's up to the Detective to deduce who the Murderer is. They only have three chances though. If they cannot correctly identify the Murderer in three tries, the game starts anew with the same person as the Detective and a new Murderer is chosen. Should the Detective guess right, the murderer is now the Detective, and the rest of the group decides who the next Murder is.

 The next day, we visited this beautiful park and shrine to watch Japanese Yabusame. Yabusame is like Japanese Kyudo on horseback. The bows and targets are around the same size. In total, there are three targets, each abour 5 seconds away from each other. During these 5 seconds, the horseback rider reloads his bow and prepares for the attack. And the entire time, he is riding the horse hands-free. They never grasp a harness to steady themselves. The only rely on their legs and the saddle to keep them up as their hands are busy controlling their bow and arrow. Please forgive me for the video quality. There were so many people around watching, I couldn't move around much because I didn't want to get in anyones way. 　

 

 The Pre-English Weekend was extremely fun! I cannot wait for the Real English Weekend. It should be happeneing sometime in November. Oh and he's a last picture of everyone who attended this Pre-English Weekend.

またね！（＾。＾）

Japanese Sports!

 

One of the classes I have chosen to take here at Kumamoto Gakuen University is titled "Special Lectures in Japanese Culture and Society." The class is taught alternitively by two American men who both have wives that live in Japan. Last week and this week, we were going over Japanese sports. Today we had the opportunity to visit some of these clubs at school and see how the sports worked.

First, we went to the school's Kyudo (弓道） practice.　Kyudo is a sport very much similar to archery that began duirng feudal Japan. However, the bow used is longer than your traditional bow. The Japanese bow, the Yumi, is just about 2 meters long and is traditionally made out of bamboo, wood, and leather. The arrows, or Ya shafts, are also made from bamboo, although arrows made from aluminum and carbon fibers do exist. These arrows can be somewhat expensive. We were told that one pack of 6 Ya shafts costs the equivalent to about $200 - $300. And that these arrows are never sold in packs of 4 due to the number 4 being associated with death in Japan. 

The archers wear traditional Japanese style clothes. They wear the short-sleeved keikogi, tied together with an Obi (long belt usually made from silk or cotton), Hakama (Japanese style pants which almost look like long skirts), and Tabi (split toed Japanese socks).

 

Next was the Japanese Kendo club (剣道).

Kendo is a sport combining martial arts with swordsmanship. There is a lot of gear worn both during practice and at tournaments. First is the Shinai. The Shinai represents the Katana sword, and is made up of four bamboo slats bound together by leather. Before the students don their armor, they wear the traditional Hakama and Keikogi. Adorning their head, is a protective helmet called a Men. The Men is made of multiple layers of leather and fabric leading down the shoulders and throat. In addition, the Men has a face guard to protect the student from any injuries to his/her face. The forearms, wrists, and hands are protected by thick gloves called Kote. The entire torso is protected by a breastplate called Do. Lastly, the waist and groin are protected by the Tare, also comprised of layers upon layers of leather and cloth. 

 

Next on our list, was the Judo club (柔道).

The idea behind Judo is to immobilize or subdue one's opponent either by pinning them to the ground, by use of joint locks, or chokes. The students wear the Keikogi and Zubon, cotton draw-string trousers slimmer than the Hakama. Around their waists, they wear an Obi.  As you can see in the picture above and the video below, there is no weight class in Judo in Japan as students are taught techniques to subdue opponents of all sizes. (Although, it's different in the Olympics!) The two guys you see in both the picture and video gave us a show of a 2 minute sparring match. The red square represents the ring. Should either opponent step outside of the red, they will lose. The two conditions of winning here were either: 1. Forcing your opponent outside of the ring, or 2. Pinning your opponent to the ground for 30 seconds.

  

The last sport we saw was the Aikido club (合気道).

 

Aikido is known as "The gentle way" due to it involving very little physical exertion. Aikido encompasses using your opponents force against them by the use of throws or joint locks. Students here wear Keikogi and Hakama as well. In addition to throws and joint locks, students also learn how to take down armed opponents as well. Although, here they only learn how to disarm opponents who are holding melee type weapons such as knives, poles, and swords. One of the International students and I have decided to join the Aikido club. During our first day, we were taught the basic movements, how to hold our grounds, some of the basic throwing techniques, and the basic backwards roll.

By the way, here's a fun fact! By law in Japan, if someone wants to go into Law Enforcement, they are required to have at least a 2nd Dan (段） Black Belt in either Kendo, Judo, or Aikido.

またね！