(New pictures in Christmas folder)
Firstly, Happy New Year! I hope that your 2007 is going well and that already it is better than your 2006- I recently (7th) had my 1 year anniversary here in Japan- I can't believe that a year has passed already- it seems so fast that it is almost incredible! Then again, when I look at what I have achieved what with Japanese and what not, a year sounds about right. So what's your new years resolution? Mine? - Blue belt in Jiu-Jitsu please. Consider that it took my three teachers a combined total of 36 years to get their black belts, perhaps I am up against it a little bit! Also, I want to attain 2 level of the JPLT, but that is a distant thought at the moment, that particular test being in late 2007.
So how did you spend new years eve? I was lucky enough to get a ticket to PRIDE fighting championships-Otoko Matsuri.
So what is PRIDE? Like Ultimate Fighting Championship, K1 and a host of other compititions, PRIDE is a mixed martial arts competition which has a major following in America and Japan. What with satillite in England, hopefully it will become easier to see there too. The fighter are celebrities here in Japan, frequently appearing in advertisements and TV shows. The fighters are from all over the world, the current heavyweight champion being from Russia.
The show we went to was the end of year bash. Our tickets were not that great, but we managed to get seats by the big screen, so it was easy to see the action. The pre fight entertanment was fantastic, with dancers, fireworks and singing. Once the fights started we were entertained with all the fighting action, although I would have liked to have seen more technique- I dont think there was a submission through the whole of the show! The fighter I was most eager to see was Antonio Noguera. This guy is a past champion whose discipline is Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I was eager to see how the pro would do it, but unfortunately he won his match through punching- I suppose any way you can!
We are lucky in our club that sometimes Sudo Genki will train there, as he is a close friend of my teacher. This guy is a real celebrity in Japan, appearing on TV shows and the like. He is famous for his ring enterances (think Nazeem Hamed), once coming to the ring with a KFC bucket on his head which was looked up to a gas canister spewing flames from the top. (See link) and unique fighting style. I was lucky enough to Spar against him once in no-gi, although it only lasted 30 or so seconds! You can see pictures of all this at the club website. You can also see Genki in action at the youtube link.
And so to this month- Home back to England on the 28th! Family, Friends -I'll be seeing you soon, but people who I haven't managed to email, if you could drop me an email to let me know where you all are......
