| Shirin Nezammafi: An Iranian Who wrote a Novel in Japanese
By Kazuyo Takeda
Eye-Ai, November 2007, pp.30-32
Truth is stranger than fiction, they say, but can fiction be more real than truth? That is the case with a 27 year-old Iranian author, Shirin Nezammafi. She wrote a novel in Japanese entitle "Salam," and which won the top Literature Award for Foreign Students in 2006, presented on January 19th, 2007.
Founded in 1999 by the Foreign University Students Committee, the award honors an outstanding literary work: a novel, short story and poem, written by foreign students studying in Japan from all over the world. Teheran born Shirin was selected unanimously out of about 80 applicants from 13 countries and regions. It was the first time ever for anyone from outside a nation that does not use Chinese characters to receive the award.
Until last spring, she had been a graduate student in Kobe University, majoring in computer science and systems engineering. She now works as a system engineer at one of Japan's major electronics makers.
The award-winning "Salam" is a story about Afghan refugees, set in a Japanese immigration office. The word "immigration" carries a sense of terror for some, as the agency strictly controls illegal foreigners staying in the country without legal documents, with no mercy. Its notorious image prevails.
In the story, what appears like an everyday scene inside the cage is portrayed from the eyes of an Iranian female college student, who, as an interpreter, steps into the white walled building and witnesses the harsh reality.
The story goes like this. The college student meets a teenage girl, emotionless, dry skinned, desperate from Afghanistan named Leila, and works with a young, enthusiastic, and not very sophisticated looking lawyer, who is there for very little money, if any at all, to defend this unfortunate little client of his.
At first, the girl hardly speaks a word, but gradually, with the continuous and persistent efforts of the student and the lawyer, the girl begins to open first her mouth and then her heart, facing bitter intense memories of the past. Mutual trust is born among the girl, the college student, and the lawyer. A key fact is revealed by the girl about her father, a military high official, who was targeted and chased by Taliban. This information could win her a legal status in Japan.
Just when things were beginning to look up, shocking news makes headline across the world: The Twin Towers Collapse. The story develops rapidly from there and things only get worse. The situation for immigrants becomes worse and an announcement is made that the girl is to be sent back to her home country immediately. Appalled at the girl's fate, the college student turns to the lawyer, who can do nothing but stand there helplessly, watching the girl, frantically crying out for help, as her arms were held tightly by the immigration agent, who took her away. The student shouts at the lawyer. The cry echoes, "Why? Why?"
You would be convinced that the story was based on actual facts. I was. That is not quite true, however. This dramatic story never really took place. There was no Leila, the girl who was sent back to Afghanistan, nor her military father that holds a key in this story. Although the whole setting is based on the author's experience, there was no parallel to 9/11. All was the creation and the craftwork by the hands of the promising Iranian lady, Shirin Nezammafi.
In an interview with Eye-Ai, Shirin says, "I had always hoped to write a story based on my experience. I had been working as an interpreter for a group supporting Afghan refugees for a couple of years, while I was an undergraduate student in Kobe University. Then a brilliant plot hit my mind. I was aware that the situation for immigrants became worse after 9/11, especially for Afghans. It occurred to me that writing about Afghan refugees in Japan at the time of that historic incident would be dramatic enough to make for an interesting novel."
About the setting of her novel, she confesses that the immigration department was a little scary. "I was worried that one day a staff might walk up to me and say, 'Why don't you go inside too?' I was afraid that I may never be able to get out of their clutches, if that were to happen," said she with a hearty laugh. Her distinguishing bright eyes became brighter. She added soon afterward that she was in fact treated very well. But that concern may well have come to her mind quite naturally. And her sentiment is reflected in her story. After all, she is a foreigner in this country, only a lucky one.
Not to mention her talent as a novelist but what wowed the members of the selection committee was her excellent Japanese. Her writing is as colorful as paintings on a palette, rich in expressions, and conveys strong, powerful emotion of the writer. It was so impressive that it was almost as though a native Japanese had written it. Surely, the committee member had not expected to receive such a high quality writing from a non-Japanese.
The first exposure to anything Japanese for Shirin was when she was in a junior high school. There was a girl who was transferred to Shirin's class and the girl had spent some years in Japan. Shirin readily made friends with her. Her friend's story about a far eastern land was fascinating, and the longing for a far, unknown part of the world became strong.
Consequently, her mind was quite set when she had to make up her mind as to which university to go to. Brought up by parents with an international background, both having studied in Europe, it came quite natural to her that she took up a chance to study abroad as well.
What was unique, though, was her choice, Japan. "My friend's stories about Japan fascinated me, and I wanted to see the country for myself," says Shirin.
With the far distant destination in mind, she took up her Japanese study seriously. Just like any learner of a foreign language, Shirin began to learn Japanese from scratch, from aiueo in hiragana, which is equivalent of ABC, and then simple words, and after that, simple sentences. By the time she arrived in Japan, she had been familiar with grammar, though it was after she came to Japan that she learned many colloquial expressions.
From Japanese pop culture, too, she may have picked up some practical conversational expressions. Her favorite pastime is reading comic books. Among them, "Slam Dunk" and "City Hunter" are two of her all time favorites. In her college days, she told me, a little embarrassed, one time she has stayed at manga kissa or comic cafe for ten hours straight without break, because she was dying to read the series of "Hana yori Dango," a high school romantic comedy! At the image of a young, tidy, sophisticated Iranian lady absorbed in reading in comics for hours in a dim, dusty space, I burst into laughter.
What has intrigued her much about Japanese society is the life of a salaried man. Her curiosity even led her to join an old traditional Japanese company.
At the beginning of our interview, she picked out one of her business cards out of a brown leather case, the size of a purse, and handed it to me carefully, with both hands on each side of the card, as she briefly introduced herself. It appeared that she was enjoying "the ritual," which is commonly practiced in business situations in Japan.
After several years of life in Japan, Shirin now seems to think that it is about the time to move on and explore another part of the world. Her favorite prospective destinations include the United States, England, and Dubai, the last of which is an Arabian business town, as she put it, and is where she can use her Persian, her mother tongue. (While talking with her in Japanese, I had almost forgot which is the first language for her!) In a few years, we may see her continuing her journey or adventure in another part of the world.
"What would you like to be doing ten or twenty years from now?" I asked her. Her answer was short, simple and without hesitation. "I want to be a writer," she paused there and said, "That is my ambition," with a smile, "A writer in Japanese?" I asked further. Then she replied, "Well, while I am in Japan, I would like to take up the challenge to write a story in Japanese, but I really do not have any preference for languages, because I realize the difficulty to compete with native Japanese writers on the same ground."
Winning the top Literature award for Foreign Students is not the end of the road for Shirin. "Actually I feel embarrassed to find my photos at the award published in media or on web pages, because I have not made any great achievement yet. Publishing a book would be an achievement. And that is my dream," and she continues, "And if that dream comes true, I would love to dedicate my book to one of the foreign students' advisors at Kobe University."
"My life at the university changed after I met her," she says. "She was very understanding, open-minded. I felt I could talk to her about almost anything. And I did tell her that I wrote stories as a hobby. I did not feel embarrassed. She realized my interest in writing, and every time there came up an opportunity for writing or bilingual speech contests, she would encourage me to participate. Having someone who would read what I wrote and comment on it was important. I was encouraged to write more and more. I am very glad that I had the chance to meet the teacher. And also my friend and an illustrator Minori Kanbe, she always had the time to check my Japanese, for which I am so grateful."
With fond memories of the life in Japan, of her friends and teacher, "I will always want to come back to Japan," says Shirin. Some day when she comes back, her bright eyes will be brighter, and she will be much closer, I am certain, to achieving her dream.
|
| Graduate with
Independence: Home schooling in Japan, Part 2
By Kazuyo Takeda
Eye-Ai, July 2006, pp.38-41
How do you survive this fast paced information age, when knowledge today may be outdated tomorrow? It helps to acquire the skill to learn. And that's what you'll be competent in, when you graduate from Atmark Inter-High School (Kita-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo).
Atmark is an alternative type of school which offers home based education online with a unique concept, both in English and Japanese. The school has no fixed curriculum. All the courses are customer made, and are tailored to your needs. There are some compulsory subjects, such as English, Math, History and Science, but you decide what you want to learn based on your interest. You make a contract, or a study plan, for each subject, carry it out, while modifying it where necessary, produce and submit your achievement, then finally evaluate it. There's no exam to test your knowledge. Instead, you write a report, exhibit your work, or make a presentation. You then assess your achievement with a support teacher, who assists you in every way. You are the planner, doer and assessor of your own project, and you, the student, take control of your studies.
Aya Uchigaki, 16, who was enrolled in February 2005, clearly knows what interests her: wild wolves. She is deeply fascinated by them, and wants to do something for them, but just doesn't know how. In the center of her study are placed, naturally, her favorite animals. She draws pictures of them as well as birds and dinosaurs. She exhibited her works in public, while at the same time conducting a survey of people's perception of the wild animals. She's now writing a report, and struggling with it, she says. In addition, she plans to study the history of Native Americans, who live in harmony with nature. She thinks we should all lead our lives that way. She also plans to study English. She knows she'll need it, though not her favorite subject, to go and study in Canada, Alaska, or the continental U.S. some day, which the animals inhabit.
Kazuki Saito, 22, is an active and highly independent student who was enrolled in April 2001, a year after the school started. He has been taking off from school for a couple of years now, but continues to participate in school events. This year's school trip to Yakushima, Kagoshima prefecture, he says, was a wonderful bonding and most enjoyable experience. However, he also says that it's financially difficult to participate in such events, especially if you live far away from the school and are financially independent, earning every cent for the tuition.
Interaction among students is a challenge for the school. The students are each very individual and unique, so getting to know one another would certainly be stimulating. However, the opportunity is very limited. Moreover, as the school accepts ever increasing "unschooling" students, those who quit schools or those who didn't fit in ordinary, conventional schools, it is difficult to get them all together. That said, that may not come as much of a surprise; the school's selling point, after all, is no brick and mortar schooling, or "no schooling."
No schooling is an advantage, however, for the student who has to work.
Chie Isaka, 28, who works at a mobile phone company, decided to go back to school to pick up "where she left off." She quit high school over a decade ago. It was through her acquaintance's workshop in Los Angeles, she says, that she took a closer look at herself, beginning to search for her true identity. She came to think that it might help expand her ability by returning to school once again, learn, and graduate. "It's weird," she says, "for a long while, I didn't think that I needed an academic background, and here I am, back in school again."
Your chance to discover yourself is here. "Everyone has a direction," says the Director, Tomio Yanagisawa. We just can't see it sometimes. Fortunately, there's a way to make it visible, and that's through coaching. The technique helps listen to your inner voice, as it were. You find out what interests you, what you want to learn, and decide how you want to do it. That's a start. Interestingly but not surprisingly, when you're learning what really matters
to you, that's when you learn the most, whatever it is.
The student, however, is not alone. He or she has help, powerful and reliable: a support teacher of his or her own. The support teachers act as study coaches who encourage the students when they get lost, a friend who listens attentively and sympathetically, or even a brother or sister one never had. They "walk together," says Mr Yanagisawa. "In whatever field you find interest, we, too, are willing to explore," says the support teacher's manager, Mitsuharu Kamimura.
All they can do is try to help. One day the student has to become free of the teacher. That's what they are for: to help you become independent. In the meantime, they help you find out what best works for you. They give advice as to how to access information, such as where to look for it and to whom to ask, and how to better approach a subject. They provide you with the skill to "use the whole world as your own classroom," as it were. With the advent of the internet, that can easily be done.
But you have to be careful, says Osamu Fujita, 31, a graduate of June 2003. "It's easy to find a teacher in any field on the net. There are many. If you throw out a question, someone, on the other side of the computer, will answer your question. Whether you trust the person or not, however, you have to make your own judgment." He's a sushi chef with fourteen years of experience. And in the process of his research on water, he asked a question to several different water purifier companies. Only a couple of them responded to him properly. He continues, "You have to study and have a certain amount of knowledge prior to asking a question; otherwise you'll be deceived. When the profit of a company is involved, they tend to cloud the issue, with smooth talk, as selling is their priority." All this, he says, was a good experience.
Whether it's good or bad, you learn from the experience. "You have time to think and can try out many things here, early on in your life," says Mr. Yanagisawa. Sometimes you fail, sometimes you do well. You don't have to score an "ace" all the time. No one is keeping score here.
"We're trying to make our school the place where we would want to go and study," says Mr. Kamimura. But they are hardly without difficulties. The idea of home schooling hasn't received much recognition yet in Japanese society. Simply "staying home" can actually be a difficult choice to make, if you're worried about the eyes of your curious neighbors. Possibly, the country is a bit too small for anyone to live without being noticed.
The government's attitude isn't promising, either. A support school such as Atmark is no more than juku or a private tutoring school, and the school isn't accredited by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Accordingly, there's no funding provided from the government, and the tuition is 900,000 yen per year, as high as that of a private high school. Furthermore, you graduate without a Japanese high school diploma, a qualification for admission to Japanese university. Instead, you get a high school diploma from their affiliated school in the USA, Alger Learning Center and Independence High School, a nationally accredited, Washington State approved private school.
With this diploma, you are eligible to take an entrance exam at some universities in Japan such as Hosei, Meiji Gakuin and Temple, Japan Campus. On the other hand, at other universities, you may be required to pass an exam just to be qualified to sit for the entrance exam. That's a tough route to take, with an extra hurdle to go through.
Because of this harsh reality facing home schooling, it is an alternative way of learning, mainly for those who dropped out of the Japanese educational system. More ambitious students "stay in the system" for their success in the future.
This year, Sara Mikata, 18, passed the admission exam of the International Liberal Studies at Waseda, one of the prestigious university in Japan. This is one way to open up a door to those who wish to continue their study at university.
Ms. Mikata is a straightforward, confident, brilliant young lady with exceptional musical talent. She has just made a "debut" as a professional pianist in Japan last autumn, though she has had international experiences abroad, mainly in New York, having previously performed in Carnegie Hall and at Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center. She was one of 35 young artists, from all over the world, participating in the Summer Music Program by Itzhak Perlman.
"I'd like to trigger a classical music boom in Japan," she says, "I want everyone, especially the young in my generation, to know the fun of it." She seeks fame and success in Japan, and with it, she plans to move on to an international career. She, as a performer, believes that she has a sound that no one else can get. With her favorite Liszt's ballad, she is certain that she can make the difference known to the audience. She says, "I want them to think 'Hey, wait a minutes, who's playing the music?'"
She is very energetic, positive, and uncompromising artist. One may wonder where all the power, overwhelming and enormous, comes from in such a slender young person. She keeps moving forward and never stops. She is not afraid but willing to take a risk to explore her way, lives every moment of her life, and never regrets. She says, "There may be or may not be a way in front of you, but I just keep moving. If something clicks inside you that there is something there, I take chances. There may be a cliff, steep and deep, but I jump and see what happens. There may be an alligator, but I then think of the way to deal with the situation. If you keep going and nothing is there, I can always pave a new path."
What is good about home schooling? Yoshiko Kubo, a mother of home schooling daughters says, "In home schooling, children develop their intuition." It's "the ability to see what originally cannot be seen," she put it. "Though the ability is important, it's not enough to just have it. It's equally important to be able to believe that you have the ability," she adds.
In addition you don't have to be compared to other people, she says. "Children grow up surrounded by children of different ages and adults, so they are good at noticing the good quality of other people." They also learn to decide what they do, evaluate their performance, and enjoy the process. These are the things that seem a little difficult but prove useful when they grow up, she says.
Ms. Kubo and her family are long-time home schoolers. They moved to Vancouver, Canada a couple of years ago in search of a better environment and opportunity, and to make their dream come true. "Raising your children is an experience you have only once. And so is your life. Of you want to so do something, take courage and just give it a try," she says.
She's a mother of two home schooling daughters, both teenagers. One of them is preparing to get into a Canadian university. She brought them up using home schooling since their early childhood and wrote a book about the experience. The book is entitled "We are Venturing to Raise Our Children Using Home Schooling" or "Omoikitte Houmu Sukuuru de Sodateteimasu," published by Lyon publishing company in 2001.
"Home schooling," she says, "is like walking on a country road, with your child, holding their hand, dandelions blossoming, carrying a lunch box. You come across small surprises or excitements, one after another, as anything and everything you do is for the first time and new to you. Along the way, some trouble may arise, but you know for sure that you're going to be all right because you're holding their hand tightly."
"My children, who were still very young in the book, have grown up. And the country road we used to walk has become one with a forest and a lake. You sometimes encounter a large animal. Sometimes a strong wind blows. But we got through those times together."
"When they grow even older, the road may lead to a steep hill or valley. But I believe that all the knowledge and courage they have gained will help them find their way, when they are on their own and have to travel by themselves."
"Don't worry," she says, "if you, a parent, don't know much about education, or have only little information. If you have a smile on your face and a sense of humor in your family, you'll do just fine."
Home schooling in Japan is still in its infancy. In fact, home schooling families such as the Kubos are undoubtedly a minority. But its learning style touches upon the very nature of learning: learning for your happiness and pleasure. Slowly but steadily, it is beginning to emerge.
Graduate with Independence: Home
schooling in Japan
By Kazuyo Takeda
Eye-Ai, March 2006, pp.26-29
How do you survive this fast paced information age, when knowledge today may be outdated tomorrow? It helps to acquire the skill to learn. And that's what you'll be competent in, when you graduate from Atmark Inter-High School (Kita-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo).
Atmark is an alternative type of school which offers home based education online with a unique concept, both in English and Japanese. The school has no fixed curriculum. All the courses are customer made, and are tailored to your needs. There are some compulsory subjects, such as English, Math, History and Science, but you decide what you want to learn based on your interest. You make a contract, or a study plan, for each subject, carry it out, while modifying it where necessary, produce and submit your achievement, then finally evaluate it. There's no exam to test your knowledge. Instead, you write a report, exhibit your work, or make a presentation. You then assess your achievement with a support teacher, who assists you in every way. As a planner, doer and assessor, you, the student, take control of the study.
Aya Uchigaki, 16, who was enrolled in February 2005, clearly knows what interests her: wild wolves. She is deeply fascinated by them, and wants to do something for them, but just doesn't know how. In the center of her study are placed, naturally, her favorite animals. She draws pictures of them as well as birds and dinosaurs. She exhibited her works in public, while at the same time conducting a survey of people's perception of the wild animals. She's now writing a report, and struggling with it, she says. In addition, she plans to study the history of Native Americans, who live in harmony with nature. She thinks we should all lead our lives that way. She also plans to study English. She knows she'll need it, though not her favorite subject, to go and study in Canada, Alaska, or America some day, which the animals inhabit.
Kazuki Saito, 22, is an active and highly independent student who was enrolled in April 2001, a year after the school started. He has been taking off from school for a couple of years now, but continues to participate in school events. This year's school trip to Yakushima, Kagoshima prefecture, he says, was a wonderful bonding and most enjoyable experience. However, he also says that it's financially difficult to participate in such events, especially if you live far away from the school and are financially independent, earning every cent for the tuition.
Interaction among students is a challenge for the school. The students are each very individual and unique, so getting to know one another would certainly be stimulating. However, the opportunity is very limited. Moreover, as the school accepts ever increasing "unschooling" students, those who quit schools or those who didn't fit in ordinary, conventional schools, it is difficult to get them all together. That said, that may not come as much of a surprise; the school's selling point, after all, is no brick and mortar schooling, or "no schooling."
No schooling is an advantage, however, for the student who has to work.
Chie Isaka, 28, who works at a mobile phone company, decided to go back to school to pick up "where she left off." She quit high school over a decade ago. It was through her acquaintance's workshop in Los Angeles, she says, that she took a closer look at herself, beginning to search for her true identity. She came to think that it might help expand her ability by returning to school once again, learn, and graduate. "It's weird," she says, "for a long while, I didn't think that I needed an academic background, and here I am, back in school again."
Your chance is here to discover yourself. "Everyone has a direction," says the Director, Tomio Yanagisawa. We just can't see it sometimes. Fortunately, there's a way to make it visible, and that's through coaching. The technique helps listen to your inner voice, as it were. You find out what interests you, what you want to learn, and decide how you want to do it. That's a start. Interestingly but not surprisingly, when you're learning what really matters to you, that's when you learn the most, whatever it is.
The student, however, is not alone. He or she has help, powerful and reliable: a support teacher of his or her own. The support teachers act as study coaches who encourage the students when they get lost, a friend who listens attentively and sympathetically, or even a brother or sister one never had. They "walk together," says Yanagisawa. "In whatever field you find interest, we, too, are willing to explore," says the support teacher's manager, Mitsuharu Kamimura.
All they can do is try to help. One day the student has to become free of the teacher. That's what they are for: to help you become an independent learner. In the meantime, they help you find out what best works for you. They give advice as to how to access information, such as where to look for it and to whom to ask, and how to better approach a subject. They provide you with the skill to "use the whole world as your own classroom," as it were. With the advent of the internet, that can easily be done.
But you have to be careful, says Osamu Fujita, 31, a graduate of June 2003. "It's easy to find a teacher in any field on the net. There are many. If you throw out a question, someone, on the other side of the computer, will answer your question. Whether you trust the person or not, however, you have to make your own judgment." He's a sushi chef with fourteen years of experience. And in the process of his research on water, he asked a question to several different water purifier companies. Only a couple of them responded to him properly. He continues, "You have to study and have a certain amount of knowledge prior to asking a question; otherwise you'll be deceived. When the profit of a company is involved, they tend to cloud the issue, with smooth talk, as selling is their priority." All this, he says, was a good experience.
Whether it's good or bad, you learn from the experience. Yanagisawa says, "You have time to think and can try out many things here, early on in your life." Sometimes you fail, sometimes you do well. You don't have to score an "ace" all the time. No one is keeping score here.
"We're trying to make our school the place where we would want to go and study," says Kamimura. But they are hardly without difficulties. The idea of home schooling hasn't received much recognition yet in Japanese society. Simply "staying home" can actually be a difficult choice to make, if you're worried about the eyes of your curious neighbors. Possibly, the country is a bit too small for anyone to live without being noticed.
The government's attitude isn't promising, either. A support school such as Atmark is no more than juku or a private tutoring school, and the school isn't accredited by the Minister of Education. Accordingly, there's no funding provided from the government, and the tuition is 900,000 yen per year, as high as that of a private high school. Furthermore, you graduate without a Japanese high school diploma, a qualification for admission to Japanese university. Instead, you get a high school diploma from their affiliated school in the USA, Alger Learning Center and Independence High School, a nationally accredited, Washington State approved private school.
With this diploma, you are eligible to take an entrance exam at some universities such as Hosei, Meiji Gakuin and Temple, Japan Campus. On the other hand, at other universities, you may be required to pass an exam just to be qualified to sit for the entrance exam. That's a tough route to take, with an extra hurdle to go through.
Because of this harsh reality facing home schooling, it is an alternative way of learning, mainly for those who dropped out of the Japanese educational system. More ambitious students "stay in the system" for their success in the future.
Home schooling in Japan is still in its infancy, but its learning style touches upon the very nature of learning: learning for your happiness and pleasure. Slowly but steadily, it is beginning to emerge.
Karate: In quest of strength
By Kazuyo Takeda
Eye-Ai, November 2005, pp.40-42
If you want to be strong, try karate. It teaches you to fight better. It equips you with practical techniques to beat an opponent. This isn't all. It trains you to deal with the biggest opponent you'll ever have to face: yourself.
At Kyokushin-kan, whose headquarters are located in Nishi-Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture, those with the determination to be strong come to train themselves. They come from different backgrounds. They have different reasons. But they all want to be strong.
Michael Terblanche, 58, was at the beginning of his career when he started karate in South Africa thirty-eight years ago. He was in the army and was bullied by his superiors . "I didn't want to go through that again. You take up karate to go forward," the long-time trainer says.
Hee Siew Loong, 23, comes from Malaysia. He is currently "studying abroad" to earn a black belt in two-year program. He first practiced "sport karate" with no actual contact, and then "I saw guys from Kyokushin-kan with bruises and cuts and I thought it real cool. Sport karate, is more like dancing."
Yoko Arai, 18, also says "It's cool," but this tall, young woman with an endearing smile says, "if you can give a kick to a guy, that's cool." Being female is no excuse here to be excluded from hard, tough training. She faces a male opponent, like everybody else. "Will she be ok?" I thought. It soon turned out that my concern was totally unnecessary.
This martial art, which attracts them no end, is actually relatively new. In fact, it wasn't until quite recently that it became known to many of us.
What is karate?
You hit and kick an opponent with your bare hands and bare feet. It's as simple as that, you may think, but only at a glance. It's a technique that uses your power effectively and transforms yourself into a deadly weapon.
So deadly, it is considered, that a number of schools don't allow you to "touch" the opponent, because the damage can be fatal. Chong Su Kim, the Bunan Branch Chief says, "You'll never get to know the power of your skill, unless you actually put it into practice."
"Sparring is a good chance to test your skills and discover your weaknesses under realistic conditions. You experience both hesitation and boldness, the first involving fear, pain, doubt, confusion, and self-distrust, and the latter self- assertiveness, decisiveness, patience, and often switches of mood between the two. You are on your own. You have to come up with a way out and overcome difficulties. That's what is fascinating about it," says Kim.
Undoubtedly, sparring is the glamorous part. The hardest of all, however, is acquiring skills. It isn't about memorizing a sequence of movements. It is about mastering it, making it your own. "Anyone can do it, if you do it in the right way," says the instructor. One of his students, Ryusei Tateishi, 10, has it right. He intently observes his seniors, and goes over the same movement over and over again until he does it right. In fact, he continues to practice even after his teacher says he's got it. "Skills are what you acquire through training, not what you're born with," says Kim.
Sharpen your instinct
Certainly, it's not to say that your inborn ability is of little use. Quite the contrary.
"Close your eyes, and raise your hand when you think I'm going to clap my hands," says the instructor to his very young students. The room is suddenly filled with silence, each one focusing their attention on the sound about to be made. Some lift their hand a bit too early, others a little too late. Once they pick up the trick, though, they do marvelously well. Most of them react to the coming sound at the right time. This is training to sharpen your instinct, to sense the atmosphere, and to read the mind of your opponent.
It's crucial that you revive your animal instinct, which could have long gone to sleep, and utilize it to its maximum. In this way, you can keep damage to yourselv to a minimum. It is said that one is most vulnerable just before taking action or when restoring energy for the next move. You sense your opponent's timing and either roll with his punches or counter punch, eventually discouraging him Each of your moves, of course, has to be quick and accurate.
The power of nature
"Use the power of one's own nature," Kim repeatedly instructs his students, "Use your entire body, not just your hands or feet." You twist your waist, spin your body, and with your fighting spirit, you put all your power into a single blow or a single kick.
"And open your mind, and relax yourself," he says. It's important that you breathe naturally, and that you always remember to go back to your usual stance, which you feel most comfortable with and you can most defend yourself. "The power of nature is the royal road. Don't be forceful; if you are forceful, you too will be forced," he emphasizes.
In search of glory
You go through hard training because you have a dream, and you want to make that dream come true. "I want to win at a national championship." A lot of children are enthused about who won against whom at which convention. It's the focus of their interest. "The children want to win in a championship, and want a trophy. That's ok. Just as people of different ages have different attitudes toward life, I think it's ok that people have different attitudes toward sparring depending on their ages. But I have to tell them that winning isn't everything," says Kim.
Likewise, earning a black belt is everyone's goal. "It's like coming of age in life. You experience all the basic movements, sparring, and you go through bodily changes and various emotional stages. After a certain amount of time and training, everyone achieves it eventually. You gain a black belt, and it's where the real challenge begins. Since you make demands on yourself, deciding what's necessary and what's not, it's up to you. You make the color of your black belt," says Kim.
The real challenge comes after the glory.
The challenge
"It's a battle against yourself. It appears that you are fighting with an opponent, but not exactly. That's only a part of it, the real battle takes place within yourself," says Kim.
As Sun Tzu, the ancient Chinese general and military strategist, once said, "If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles." The same is true here.
First know your enemy. "Read their mind through their eyes. Watchtheir breathe from the nose," says Kim. The proverb has it that the eyes are the window of the soul. They speak about the person, as much as or perhaps more than the mouth. And by the nose, you'll catch the moment they inhale, a perfect timing for an attack, because, interestingly, when breathing in, they can't do much else.
Then comes the real challenge: overcome yourself. Know yourself in order to take control. Your knowledge of the physical condition, ability and its limit, and thinking process help when dealing with the biggest opponent.
Those who are strong know themselves very well indeed. It's perhaps the secret of their strength. You can see clearly what your opponent is going through because you have been there already.
"Find the way of continually winning over yourself," says Kim, "when you find it, you'll have nothing to fear, no matter who your opponent may be, no matter what situation you may have to face." But remember, you are your own toughest competition.
The challenge to come to grips with ourselves continues, and as long as we thrive on this challenge, karate will continue to attract us.
Ofuroholic nation: Why do Japanese
bathe?
By Kazuyo Takeda
Eye-Ai, July 2005, pp.36-37
Different country, different culture, so there are things you just don't understand. For many visitors traveling to Japan, its culture of long lasting bathing is one. At the sight of both men and women, from infants to the elderly, bathing together in public baths, in boiling hot water – the thermometer reading over 130 degree Fahrenheit at times -, some are appalled, others stunned, and some even think it primitive.
Such bathing is a scene you could have witnessed everywhere in Japan during the Edo period, some hundreds of years ago, but the custom still remains.
And the mystery remains as to why the Japanese so much like to be "boiled." Where you could easily, handily get the dirt off the body, with a three minute shower, why do they take a long, hot baths, their skin turning as red as lobsters? The Japanese have their own expression, "yude-dako," literally boiled octopus. So why do they do this even in the heat of hot, humid summer? Partially, it's esthetic, a visual delight: water and steam gushing almost everywhere throughout the country.
Volcanic islands
Perched along the Ring of Fire, a zone of frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, circling the Pacific Basin, the volcanic islands of Japan have long provided natural, abundant sources of thermal springs. According to one survey, these number as much as twenty thousand of which two thousand are the "right" temperature for bathing. It isn't therefore, hard to imagine that the Japanese, from ancient times, have made use of this fairly easily accessible natural resource.
Humid climate
Another geographical factor would be its humid climate. The degree of humidity can rise up to eighty percent at times, and you simply cannot do without a bath to wash away the sweat from the body, otherwise body odor can be offensive.
Healing properties
Bathing was not only for cleansing. Its healing properties were very much appreciated from early times. For ancient Japanese, when the medicine was not as advanced as today, contracting a disease was often a death sentence. There were no doctors who could treat most diseases, so the only possible cure was to cure oneself.
Hippocrates, that great Greek physician, once declared, "Nature cures; not the physicians." All living things, human beings without exception, are inherently equipped with the natural healing process. It is when the immune system is on the downside, however, that one suffers from a disease. What is necessary is to bolster the immune system, by means of rest, a good diet, fresh air, and so on. Thermal water, too, proved effective by stimulating and enhancing this weakened inner healer.
The healing water was, as it were, the fountain of life for a desperate patient and the family. With slim hope of recovery, they would go all the way to a remote area, which, in pre-automobile era, would have been, financially and physically, too heavy a burden for ordinary people.
For those fortunate enough to visit such hot springs, they usually found a temple and shrine nearby. The former would have become the place to rest in peace for the unfortunate, and at the latter was used to pray to spring since the Japanese regarded their springs as sacred gifts from the gods. In a sense, such gifts were intermediaries to the gods. So the Japanese dedicated shrines to the hot springs and revered them.
Cleanliness people
Japanese cleanliness has been the common knowledge of the world. The traditional Japanese religion, Shinto, had a lot to do with it. The ancient Japanese has long practiced rituals of purification. It was believed that by cleansing away with clean water, you could wash away illness, misfortune, death, sin, or whatever was abominating to them. According to the old Chinese historical record, around the third century, the family of the dead all marched into the sea, and thus purified themselves.
Buddhism, a popularizer
It was Buddhism, which was introduced to the country in A.D. 552, that took advantage of the Japanese habit of bathing and contributed much to its spread throughout the nation. Buddhism neatly combined its tenets with those of Shinto, and preached that, by taking a bath, one would not only purge the body of its sins but also have seven times better luck in every other aspect.
In the eighth century, the first "charity bath" was given in Hokke Temple in Nara by Empress Komyo, the wife of Emperor Shomu, a devout Buddhist. She was very beautiful, a devout Buddhist herself, and was shining with glory. One day, the glory faded, and she set her mind to overcome her concern by getting the dirt of a thousand bathers with her hands. Day after day, she kept on washing off their grime. The last one had leprosy, the most feared disease at the time. She, however, didn't hesitate to cleanse his grime away. Upon finishing, Buddha appeared, and the light (her inner beauty) came back to her again, or so it is told.
Free baths gave the pleasure of bathing to the receivers. Those who have taken a bath once, looked forward to the next one. It wasn't an easily-obtainable pleasure, however. It was a very religious activity, hardly free from strict rules and disciplines. The dates for bathing were preset. The temple was frequently not easily accessed. No alcohol was allowed. No chatting was permitted. After all, the event took place at a sacred, spiritual place.
Public baths eventually came available so the pleasure was there for all to enjoy, without hard and fast rules to follow, available at any time they wished, close by in their neighborhoods, and all for a trifling charge.
In search of pleasure
For many Japanese, bathing at the end of a day is sheer pleasure. Their passion for bathing has never ceased over the years. They perhaps have a very stressful, exhausting day. After coming home (or perhaps before going to bed), they take a bath, and wash away all their concerns, fatigue, and the troubles of the day with clean water. They then soak in hot water, they restore their energy. Completely refreshed, they prepare themselves for the coming day.
Bathing is not merely an act of getting themselves clean. It's the way of dealing with the society they live in, or balancing themselves in it.
In this hectic society today, the demand for peace of mind appears to be ever more on the increase. The recent opening of two theme parks featuring hot springs, Oedo-Onsen Monogatari and Niwa no yu in Tokyo, perhaps reflects the mood of the country. Not too popular among the young generation, I have to say, but the tradition remains nevertheless, and will, at least, for another several decades. Whatever the future outlook may be, for Japanese, bathing fanatics, or a nation of "ofuroholics", bathing is not an infatuation but a long-cherished affection.
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