...Empty Hand Fighting, Jay Gluck’s Zen Combat, R.W. Smith’s Secrets of Shaolin Temple Boxing and A Complete Guide to Judo,    Gilbey’s (actually R.W. Smith) Secret Fighting Arts of the World,   Oyama’s This is Karate, D.T. Suzuki’s Zen and Japanese Culture, Plee’s Karate by Pictures   and Nakayama’s Dynamic Karate , Samuel Griffith’s The Art of War, Vishnu Devananda’s The Complete...

...some Bible Game until Wrath of God hit and Kenya didn't have to go to work. But the important thing is that we've established the Sakitama connection. Kazu-san got in touch with Oyama, Sakitama's captain, and they've been visiting BMU on and off. We finally got them to take the Bible Game plunge this week - Oyama played a round of Short Game Show yesterday, and three others played...

...of them, MPs were bully boys and thugs, and like most squaddies, I despised them. * In Nairobi I was posted to a transmitter site about 40 miles out of town. It was here, inspired by Oyama, that I seriously began to condition my hands and forearms by beating them on the tubular metal frame at the end of my army bed, which I’d wrapped in thick rope.   I also soaked my hands and forearms...

So yesterday was actually surprisingly awesome. I went to class as usual, and then, partly because I'd once again forgotten my power cord and was out of battery life on my laptop, and partly because it...of a disappointing end to a good day, but we didn't have to pay for the karaoke (Hakuoh treated us, because we were the "guests" of this little event), so I suppose I can't really complain too much

There hasn't been much of interest happening lately (hence my lack of posts); classes continue on, and continue to be pretty much review. But I have been going out walking (well, biking, but whatever...time, as there was a mom and her kid at the playground there, but I came in through the back so they didn't really see me. It was only a small outing, really, but it was still a lot of fun

...financial yuppies who are trying to give us the boot have given the other company until tomorrow to come up with enough teachers otherwise they want to have the dispatch companies bid again for the Oyama City jobs....which would take for.ev.er. BorderLink doesn't sound like they have enough teachers prepared since they called our office yesterday?today? in an offer to "help" out us ALTs who would...

I am slowly learning the streets of Oyama. I got the key to my "new" car a couple days ago and decided to drive the streets looking around and figuring out where stuff is. There is a lot to learn! Oyama is probably about the same size as Marugame or Utazu I would guess. It is not a majorly big city but the buildings are tall enough that I can't see any mountains in the distance. That was one major...

...is.  It cleared out by the morning but the trade-off was an extremely sore throat (from all the drainage.  Lovely).  I blame Wal-Mart. I somehow managed not to fall asleep standing on the train to Oyama and made it to my new apartment.  It is a vast improvement over the last one.  Waaaaaay better.  Small, neat, clean and cheap.  The bathtub is my favorite feature and it has one of those Rinnai water...