MY ENGLISH HOLIDAY – 4 Aug 2007 to 20 Aug 2007

I took a little break to England from 4 to 20 August 2007 by myself. The main reason for this trip was the Kodokan Kendo seminar that I wanted to attend as well as participate in grading for my 2nd Dan after the seminar. Unfortunately, Laura was unable to accompany me as she had just recently started at her new job at SAP and did not have sufficient leave days. Needless to say, I was missing her dearly throughout the trip, but stayed in constant contact with her via SMS and the almost-daily 5-minute phone call (yes, the cell phone bill was astronomical)! But, the time apart was good, as everyone kept reminding me. 

My English holiday had a rather unpleasant start: Firstly, I was charged for my Kendo equipment that was not deemed sporting equipment (R4000 in excess baggage) on my flight to London. Next, my flight entertainment unit was not working, so I had to endure an 11 hour flight with no TV. Lastly, and the worst, my main bag with all my clothing got delayed / lost at Heathrow. I eventually only ended up with only bags on the Thursday (4 days later). Anyway, please refer to my blog posting for more of my whining on this.

However, with that said, the rest of my trip was awesome! Upon stepping out of the airport, I was greeted by the warm rays of the London sun! Yup, it was sunny and hot for the majority of time that I was in there, with some slight showers on the last few days on my trip! The first week was spent doing some sight seeing in and around London! In the many occasions that I’ve been to England, this was the first time that I actually visited some of the infamous London sights like St Paul’s, Westminster Abby, Buckingham Palace, the London Eye and Tower of London (where all the Crown jewels are kept – very cool). I even managed to go to a Star Wars exhibition at County Hall in Westminster! Also, I had such good intentions to visit some Harry Potter movie-locations and the only one I was able to see in London was King’s Cross and “Platform 9 ¾” where Harry and co. would board the Hogwarts Express! Some other places that I visited were Windsor Castle (weekend home of the Queen) and Blenheim Palace (home of the Churchill family)! I had such good intentions to visit more place and see more things (such as the British Museum, which I told nearly everyone I saw that I was going to go there sometime), but just ran out of time! But hey, it gives me a good excuse to return!

I also managed to spend quality time with good friends: On the first day, Jax and Don had a braai at their place. The food was awesome and definitely ate way too much! We finished the afternoon with a nice walk around the area since the weather was so warm and sunny! Met up with Jax and Don one other evening for dinner at a pub in Wimbledon. The last night I was in London, Jono and I also went by their place again to collect some stuff to take back with me to South Africa for her family. Don was a bit tipsy that night and I have some rather memorable pictures to prove that!

Jono took some days off to spend some time with me. Was very cool just hanging out and talking a lot of guy-stuff! The one evening, we headed off to Andrew’s place (one of Jono’s friends) to check out his Darth Maul light saber! Way too awesome and that was the deciding factor for me to get one too (or two, or three??)…more on that later! Had a few dinners where I also managed to meet some of Jono’s London’s friends like Vernon and Bonita, Kevin, Gary and Cindy, Warren Ying and Nikkie Q. Was good to see everyone getting into the London-grove! Made me think, “Maybe I should try it out too”? ! Met up a number of times with Jono for lunch in London. It’s a pity that I wasn’t able to meet up with Chants too, as it would’ve been nice just to catch up with her! Jono also managed to “get sick” the one day and join me on my trip to Windsor Castle! I spent many evenings just chatting to Chants and Jono and catching up on old times or just playing on the Wii machine. Great friends such as them are a rare find and I am forever grateful for their hospitality by putting me up in their place, fetching and taking me to the airport, the many free lunches and dinners, and most importantly, the good times and memories.

I was able to meet up with Danni and Paul for dinner the one night too. We went walking around the south side of the Themes River then after walking up an appetite, we dinned a snazzy restaurant that I can’t even remember the name of (the only thing I could remember was that the trains ran over the restaurant)! Was good to see Danni happy with the new man in her life!

During the week, I met Jennifer for lunch the one day on the lawns of St Paul’s Cathedral. That’s quite a big thing for Londoner’s – when the sun’s out, go and spread out on any green patch you can find! Very interesting sight as there were some that were even sun bathing in their bikinis (no complaints on this side). We had take-away Japanese sushi! Was great to see Jen doing so well in London!

I also met up with Nadia the one day. We went walking around in London and later had a Korean dinner. Was good to catch up on old times!

The following week was spent with Scott and Hyemi. They stay in Alyesbury, about 1.5 hrs outside of London and is less congested. Was also good fun! Had a good Taekwondo training session on the one Sunday with Scott and Hyemi that was hard-work but thoroughly enjoyable! Scott’s moves are amazing as ever, so I need not say anymore! Later that day, we headed off ice-skating with Scott’s niece, Alyssa! Believe me when I said my legs were dead by the end of the day. That Monday, Scott took off to take me to Blenheim Palace! It was great having Scott around as he is, as I put it, a walking Wikipedia and my personal tour guild! Later that evening, we headed off for Kendo training at his club, Kodokan. It was hard work, but definitely a good session! My next training session at Kodokan was on the Wednesday. Going to the sessions before the seminar was a good way to get me familiarized with the environment. During the week preceding the seminar, I had also met up with Scott and Hyemi for lunch or diner in London. On the last day, Scott had lunch with me and we ended up in Soho’s red light district trying to find a fish and chips deli! It was great to see the many wonderful attractions and so friendly too! But, that aside, it was great spending time with him. It was good to spend some quality time with Scott and Hyemi on this trip as it is usually such a rushed affair! Just proved to me that even after a long time of not seeing each other, great friends will always be there and it will be as good as, if not better than, the old times!

Sorry to those friends whom I had contacted but had not been able to meet up with. It gives me another reason to return to England soon!

The Kodokan seminar started on the Thursday. The Kendo seminar boasted three 8th Dan and four 7th Dan sensei’s. The importance of this seminar was that at the end of it, I would be able to grade for my 2nd Dan grade!

The below is an extract from my mail sent regarding the seminar (for those who are not interesting in the martial arts, please skip this part):

“Thursday - The senior grade day-seminar that was reserved for 3rd dans and higher. Fortunately, we had asked in advance if we were allowed to attend. Very intresting as the morning session dealt with the role of a teacher in a dojo and methods on how they should help their students. Was a bit intimidating as I was the only shodan (1st dan) there. The majority were Sandans, Yondans and Godans (3rd, 4th and 5th dans)! There was lunch and a break then the afternoon session that was shinai work. Later that afternoon, all the other seminar participants started arriving. After dinner, we had evening keiko for an hour with the senseis! It was awesome seeing a room full of armoured kendo players (almost 80, including senseis). Once done, the evening ended off with drinks at the 'bar' with some people only finishing off at 4am!

Friday - Asa Gi Keiko, morning keiko, started at 7am for an hour. Fortunately, Sumi sensei decided that we should stick to some basics in armour. So, after a quick warm-up, we started doing something called 'kihon keiko-ho', a set of 9 patterns, similar to kata, but is more practical in the sense that it bridges the gap between shinai kendo and kendo kata! Very very interesting and it is something that we'd like to share with people back home in the dojo! Interestingly, ‘kihon keiko-ho' was developed my Sumi sensei and a number of other senseis in Japan and is now recognised as part of the All Japan Kendo Federation's (AJKF) syllabus. Afternoon session was again shinai work and thereafter a sports lecture. Later that afternoon, the six houses (all 70 kendo players were split into separate house) were split into 2 groups and we did a shiai and refereeing in each group. The refereeing instruction was insightful and definitely a motivating factor to have more shiai's in SA! Since everyone was a bit wobbly on the referring side, the shiai wasn't taken too seriously. In the evening after dinner, there was again keiko with the sensei's.

Saturday - Same format as the day before. However, when the shiai/refereeing came about, it was taken a bit more seriously. Each of the 6 groups fielded a 5-man team. Andrew was in his fighting team had won both his fight during the round-robin! Unfortunately, his team did not win in their pool of 3. Ivor had injured his hand again and decided not to take part in the shiai but rather just refereeing. I had 1 fight in the round robin and beat a godan! Not bad for a litie from SA! Eventually the winners of the 2 groups had a face-off in the finals, with my team, Yugi, prevailing as the shiai winner with a nail-biting 3-2 victory (I had lost my match to a very quick Sandan in the 1st match, but the rest of my team pulled through)! Later that evening, there was a farewell drinks party. Scott and I had bought some Star Wars light sabers earlier to the seminar and Paul sensei requested if he could use them at the party! Anyway, he did! During the party, the lights went off and Paul sensei switched on his light sabers and handed the other to Sumi sensei! The resulting fight was hilarious with Sumi sensei doing his impersonation of Zatchoitchi, a famous Japanese blind swordsman....with a light sabre! Once the laughter died and the presentation underway, my team was declared overall seminar team winners and the team leader, Yamamoto sensei (7th dan) named as the 'winning sensei'! We had celebratory Champaign (I had a sip and passed out) and after a night of partying, headed off to bed to prepare for the following day's grading! It was good fun!

Sunday - Grading day. Morning again started with asa-keiko or kata practice. Only Ivor decided to go for kata practice. Andrew and I decided to sleep in. After a hurried breakfast, we went back to prepare for the grading. All 3 of us passed – Andrew to Shodan, Ivor and myself to Nidan! The entire grading lasted 3 hours and there were ikkyus, shodan, nidan, yondan and godan gradings. The seminar ended with a final keiko with the sensei’s.

The seminar was amazing and definitely one that I would like to attend again soon!”

On the issue of light sabers, I bough three light sabers for the myself and 2 other Star Wars fanatics like myself, namely Jono and Scott! I got Jono the Mace Windu Jedi light saber (that glows purple) and gave Scott the Obi-One Kenobi light saber (the blue one) as I know it is their dream to be a Jedi! I on the other hand, decided to get Darth Vader’s light saber that has a very distinctive lower hum to it! DARTH RULES!

(As a side note, these are typical boy-toys! Girls have no concept of what this means to us, as illustrated by Chantel’s comment “So how much did you pay for these glowing florescent tubes that make a noise?”! Arrrggggg….)

All in all, the trip was thoroughly enjoyable thanks to the hospitality of my friends! A huge “thank you” to those friends and I hope to repay you in kind when you come to SA!

P.S. To overcome the “excess baggage” problem I had when coming over to London with my Kendo equipment, I bought an external golf bag and packed all my equipment in there and got my additional 15kgs free of charge!

P.S.S. Better still, I was compensated for my delayed bag thanks to a very helpful lady in the London SAA branch! The money was in the bank by the time I was back in SA!

The proposal...Part 1

7 July 2007 (7/7/2007) was the day that I proposed to Laura!

Unfortunately, it wasn't the most romantic of proposals as I was half falling asleep on the bed while Laura was watching TV.

Going back a few steps, let's start from the beginning:

It's been a long time since Laura and I had gone on a weekend away. It's been rather difficult these past few months due to a number of unfortunate events. However, we did finally manage to arrange for a weekend aways to Clarens, a small town in the Free State province, about 4 hrs out of JHB.

We were to leave on the Friday and return on Sunday. I called Laura's dad the Thursday evening before to ask for his permission. Now, before I get criticised for asking via a telephone, let me remind you that Laura's folks stay in Kimberley! I had been down a few times before (the most recent was 2 weeks since them), but chickened out each time! So much for those "nerves of steel", conditioned from years of martial arts training! Even on the phone, asking Mr King for his daughter's hand in marriage was harder than facing a foul-mood Tony Sensei in a kendo keiko (and those are painful, usually resulting in bruised ribs, arms, wrists and head)!

Just to give you an idea, I had been planning to ask her since November 2006! I had bought a diamond then and was going to ask her in the new year. But, as mentioned earlier, there were a number of unfortunate events that occurred that just delayed 'the proposal'.

Knowing how fussy Laura was, I decided not to make an engagement ring for her, but rather give her a token ring and the diamond. My mom was happy to supply a token ring (that is actually very nice) and a purple, heart-shapped box to hold it in!

Anyway, with her father's approval, a token ring and the actual diamond, I was all revved up for 'the proposal'!

However, on arrival in Clarens, I soon realised that the town was nice, but not exactly what I had in mind for a romantic setting. Nevertheless, I was determined!

The Saturday day prior to 'the proposal', we went about town and did some shopping. It was very quaint and kish, but very touristy. We did find a nice restaurant to have dinner that evening and I thought I would use that opportunity to do 'the proposal'.

On the big night at the restaurant, we had a lovely dinner. The ambiance was really nice, other than the fact that we had a table of 2 Afrikaans couples behind us. The guys at that table were so loud and vulgar that it just totally ruined any possible moment for 'the proposal'. So, that was a no-no.

Anyway, once done with dinner, I asked Laura is she wanted to walk around the park for a little while, but being a rather chilly night, she said no and we headed back to the B&B.

So, back at the b&b, we settled down to watch some TV. I went to the bed and put my head down. Now, for those who know me, I am known for my low-resistance to the gravitational pull of my eye-lids, especially after a meal..... I was falling asleep!

I had to stay focused!!!

I called Laura over to the bed (still lying down) and mumbled something to her that sounded like "vudowmaggyhee??" I think she must've made it out cause she started prodding me to wake up! Anyway, when I "woke up", I spend the next 30 minutes trying to convince her that I was serious in my proposal and that it wasn't some demented-bachelor's nightmare!

Finally, she succumbed to my charming puppy-dog eyes (falling asleep again??) and said 'yes'!

And the rest, as one would say, is history....!

My flight to London...

I am in London, UK at the moment. Sitting in thle living room of Jonno and Chant's apartment in South Wimbledon.

I arrived from JHB on Sunday and had one of the most frustrating trips here!

To summerise it briefly:

1) I was charged for 17kg of excess baggage back in SA. This amounted to almost R4000 (ouch..).

2) My Entertainment unit on the plane was not working. I asked the air stewdard if they could fix it and he informed me, after one attempt, they could do nothing. My unit was the only none not working.

3) The crappy air hostesses and stewards on SAA. Their lame attempt at being customer-oriented and professional is so off-putting, I could travel on a more expensive airline just to avoid them.

4) My main bag at Heathrow got lost. Waited until the last bag came out of the luggage merry-go-round to have that horrible feeling at the bottom of my pit that said "...AND you paid R4000 to have your bag lost????..."

With that said, I am glad to say, my bag was finally found yesterday (Wednesday) after 3 days of scrounging for clothing to wear! It wasn't too bad tho. I spoke to the friendliest and most helpful lady at the London branch of SAA (Carol) who advised me that I had a £50 allowance a day for each day my luggage was delayed. Been on a bit of a shopping spree, but £50 doesn't go to far considering a pair of socks costs £2! Thank goodness the sales are on so I have been rather conservative with the spending and getting the sales goodies.

(Just a side note - I told my mom about the £50 allowance and she said I should use it on my tummy rather. I think she wants me to eat more...Chinese moms.... gotta love them! :p )


Anyway, I am at home (Jonon and Chant's place) for now waiting for my bags to arrive. It's just before noon. Wonder if I can use today's £50 allwance too?

Bad Date...Part 1

One day, when I was younger, I got a call from a female "friend" of mine in Cape Town whom I had not seen or heard from for over 3 years! She said said she'd be in JHB for a week the following week and wanted to meet up for dinner.

Being young, reckless, single and good-looking, I thought to myself, "hey, why not...you never know!"

I was to meet her at a designated area in a shopping mall for the date.

On the night, I was all revved up and ready to go. As I approached the designated meeting area, I noticed my friend and waved. She looked at me strangely.

As I approached closer, I said "hi! How are you". Again, she gave me this confused look. I was worried.

Anyway, I proceeded to try and converse with this confused creature. Eventually, she clicked and recognised me from 3 years ago!!

She had apparently called the wrong "Warren" and thought she was going on a date with the "other" Warren!


Man, I think I might have varied between 12 shades of red!


Needless to say, I left in a hurry!

LOVE people, USE things....

...Never get the two mixed up!

I went to a work colleague's retirement this past Tuesday - Mike Cormick from Vodacom. Very nice gentleman whom I have worked with for the past 6 years on various Vodacom projects.

Anyway, in Mike's retirement speach, he said there are 3 things that he has learnt in his life time that will gear him for an enjoyable retirement:

1) Keep healthy throughout your life by eating healthy and exercising regularly so that you can do all the things you want to do when you retire;

2) Save enough for retirement - Well, that just speaks for itself;

3) Lastly, he mentioned that quote above in the title. "Love people and use things...don't get the two mixed up"!

I thought this last statement was so profound as it left me pondering the thought that even I do that sometimes! I have become so materialistic and have fallen into the trap of LOVING things and USING people for my own selfish gain.

Well, needless to say, I am going to make a conscience effort to start making that statement a part of my life and try and rectify some of the wrong I have done.

Thanks for opening my eyes, Mike! All of the best!

19 May 2007 Individual Shiai

The 19th of May saw the first Individual Kendo Shiai of the SAKF for 2007 at the Japanese School. Unfortunately the turnout was not too good as only 11 competitors pitched up for the event- 6 for the Kyu grade shiai and 5 for the Dan grade shiai.

Nevertheless, the excitement amongst the competitors was evident from the first few fights in the Kyu grade shiai!

The Kyu grade competitors comprised of Desley, Sebastian and Ebrahem from the Fodushin Dojo, Smith(?) from KenYuKai and Magen and Andrew from the San Kawa Dojo.

The Kyu fights were spirited and eventually Andrew and Magen had a face-off in the 1st semi final. Andrew won with 2 mens to proceed to the finals. The second semi final was between Smith and Ebrahem with Ebrahem proceeding to the finals.

The Kyu final between Andrew and Ebrahem took place before the Dan grade Final. Andrew won the Kyu grade division with a men strike.

In the Dan competition, there were 2 pools. The first pool comprised of Mitchell, Craig and myself. The 2nd pool comprised of Ivor and Francis.

In the first pool, Mitch and I fought with Mitch taking an early do. I countered with a debane kote, but Mitch eventually won with a do cut.

The 2nd match between Mitch and Craig ended with Mitch losing by a kote.

The 3rd match was between Craig and myself. I took my first point for the day with a single- handed tsuki thrust! I thought it was pretty good as I hit the target spot on, with the foot-stomp and kiai (That is what the picture is of, by the way)! Anyway, Craig came back with a do strike. I eventually won with a men strike.

Since there was a draw in the 1st pool as each competitor won one and lost one, we had to have a rematch round-robin, but only with one-point match:

1st round again was Mitch and myself. I took his men and won that fight.

2nd round was Craig and myself. I lost as Craig took my kote.

3rd fight was Craig and Mitch, with Mitch losing to Craig with a men strike.

So, as it stood, Craig and myself would proceed to the semi-finals.

The second pool of Ivor and Francis only had the one fight with Francis being victorious with 2 men strikes. They both proceeded to the semi finals.

The first semi-final was between Francis and myself. Francis took the match with a men and kote strike to proceed into the finals.

The 2nd semi-final was between Craig and Ivor. Craig won with 2 do strikes.

The final between Francis and Craig was long as it went past the 3 minute mark and into extra time. Craig eventually took men to win the shiai.

All in all, considering the number of competitors, the shiai wend well and I think we all learnt a thing or two for next time.

Heaven on Earth...One [9 May 2007]

This is a picture taken in 2004 when I went on the Otto Trail which runs through the Tsitsikamma National Park which stretches for 80 km along the scenic southern Cape coast and 5,5 km out to sea.

It's beautiful and is probably one of the places I would call "Heaven on Earth".

For more info on the Otto Trail, visit: http://www.antbear.co.za/information/otter-trail.htm

Note that I was the last one at the end of a hiking group of 10 people! It was my first 5 day hike (42km), EVER! Impressive, eh?

It was also during a time that Laura and I had just started dating! Man, did I see a different side of her! RUFF AND TOUGH!! :p

88 Ways to Know If You're Chinese [8 May 2007]

I got this from a friend of mine! I have modified a few cause they were more for the American Chinese! However, it's amazing how many of these apply to me!

I reckon if you have 10 or more, you have some Chinese in you! Take a read!

01. You look like you are 18 and still get asked for ID at clubs.

02. You like to eat chicken feet that's pickled, steamed or in soups.

03. You suck on fish heads and fish fins.

04. You have a Chinese knick-knack hanging on your rear view mirror.

05. You sing karaoke.

06. Your house is covered with tiles.

07. Your kitchen is covered by a sticky film of grease.

08. Your stove is covered with aluminium foil.

09. You leave the plastic covers on your remote control.

10. You've never kissed your mom or dad.

11. You've never hugged your mom or dad.

12. Your unassisted vision is worse than 20/500.

13. You wear contacts, to avoid wearing your "coke bottle glasses".

14. You've worn glasses since you were in primary school.

15. Your hair sticks up when you wake up.

16. You'll haggle over something that is not negotiable.

17. You love freebies.

18. You drive around for hours looking for the best parking space.

19. You take showers at night.

20. You avoid the non-free snacks in hotel rooms.

21. You don't mind squeezing 20 people into one motel room.

22. Most girls have more body hair than you, if you are male.

23. You tap the table when someone pours tea for you.

24. You say "Aiya!" and "Wah!" frequently.

25. You don't want to wear your seatbelt because it is uncomfortable.

26. You love casinos, slot machines, and blackjack.

27. You unwrap Christmas gifts very carefully, so you can reuse the paper.

28. You only buy Christmas cards after Christmas, when they are 50% off.

29. You have a vinyl table cloth on your kitchen table.

30. You spit bones and other food scraps on the table. That's why you need the vinyl tablecloth.

31. You have stuff in the freezer since the beginning of time.

32. You have more than one freezer / fridge in your home. Even more if you have a shop.

33. You use the dishwasher as a dish rack.

34. You have never used your dishwasher.

35. You keep a Thermos of hot water available at all times.

36. You eat all meals in the kitchen.

37. You save plastic bags, tin foil, containers and newspaper.

38. You have a piano in your living room.

39. You pick your teeth at the dinner table (but you cover your mouth).

40. You twirl your pen around your fingers.

41. You hate to waste food.

42. You have Tupperware in your fridge with three bites of rice or one leftover chicken wing.

43. You don't own any real Tupperware - only a cupboard full of used but carefully rinsed margarine tubs, takeout containers, and jam jars.

44. You also use the jam jars as drinking glasses.

45. You have a collection of miniature shampoo bottles that you take every time you stay in a hotel.

46. You carry a stash of your own food whenever you travel (travel means any car ride longer than 15 minutes). These snacks are always dried and include dried plums, mango, ginger, and squid.

47. You wash your rice at least 2-3 times before cooking it.

48. Your dad thinks he can fix everything himself.

49. The dash board of your Honda is covered by hundreds of small toys.

50. You don't use measuring cups.

51. You beat eggs with chopsticks.

52. You have a teacup with a cover on it.

53. You go to the cemetary at least once a week.

54. Your family gathering normally entail hiring out the entire restaurant.

55. If you are male, you clap at something funny and if you are female, you giggle whilst placing a hand over your mouth.

56. You like Chinese films in their original undubbed versions.

57. You love Chinese Martial Arts films.

58. You've learnt some form of martial arts.

59. Shaolin actually mean something to you.

60. You like congee with thousand year old eggs.

61. You prefer your shrimp with the heads and legs still attached.

62. You never call your parents just to say hi.

63. If you don't live at home, when your parents call, they ask if you've eaten, even if it's midnight.

64. When you're sick, your parents tell you not to eat fried foods or baked goods due to yeet hay.

65. You know what yeet hay is.

66. You e-mail your Chinese friends at work, even though you are a few desks away.

67. You use a face cloth.

68. You starve yourself before going to all you can eat places.

69. You know someone who can get you a good deal on jewelry or electronics.

70. You save your old Coke bottle glasses even though you're never going to use them again.

71. You own your own meat cleaver and sharpen it.

72. Your toothpaste tubes are all squeezed paper-thin.

73. You know what moon cakes are.

74. When there is a sale on toilet paper, you buy 100 rolls and store them in your closet or in the bedroom of an adult child who has moved out.

75. Your parents know how to launch nasal projectiles.

76. You iron your own shirts.

77. You play a musical instrument.

78. Even if you're totally full, if someone says they're going to throw away the leftovers on the table, you'll finish them.

79. You've eaten a red bean popsicle.

80. You bring oranges (or other produce) with you as a gift when you visit people's homes.

81. You fight over who pays the dinner bill.

82. You majored in something practical like engineering, medicine or law.

83. You live with your parents and you are 30 years old (and they prefer it that way). Or if you're married and 30 years old, you live in the apartment next door to your parents, or at least in the same neighbourhood.

84. You don't tip more than 10% at a restaurant, and if you do, you tip Chinese delivery guys/waiters more.

85. You have acquired a taste for bitter melon.

86. You eat every last grain of rice in your bowl, but don't eat the last piece of food on the table.

87. You are afraid of the number 4.

88. You know why there are 88 reasons.

Spiderman VS Beavis and Butthead [7 May 2007]

I went to watch the Spiderman 3 movie this weekend... twice in fact! Yup, I am a nerd and I know it! Once on Friday with my best mate Gary and Michelle, then again on Sunday with my family.

The movie was good, but didn't have as much depth as the first two. The 3 villains featured in this movie were the Sandman, Venom and the New Green Goblin (or as Spidey put it.."baby goblin")! There was a really nice surprise twist at the end that was great, but other than that, it was a pretty standard sci-fi movie with plenty of CGI!

Anyway, sitting in the movie the second time round at the Monte Casino cinema was a bit challenging, considering I sat next to a pair of Afrikaans guys who could just not shut up during the movie! I've even gone as far as to call them, "Beavis and Butthead" as their constant remarks and mannerism reminded me of those 90's cartoon characters from the USA that probably had us all mimic their hideous giggle (....he..he..he..snort..snort..snort) .

The one guy had his sandles off most of the time and was waving his bare feet about very closely to my knee at times. Not only that, his constant remarks (in Afrikaans) would push that movie's age restriction up to a SVNL 21 category! It was most annoying! (p.s. SVNL stands for "Sex, Violence, Nudity, Language" - The things one picks up when we're kids)!

Sometimes, after a stupid comment, I would deliberately turn my head 90 degrees at him and give him a greasy eye-balled look in the dark. It must've work cause he would then shut up for a few minutes. Not enough for the whole movie unfortunately. By my 12th head-turn, I was starting to feel the effects similar to whip-lash in my neck, so I resorted to the occasional disapproving head-shake and rolling eyes. I hope he noticed this.

Anyway, after enduring 2 hrs and 30 minutes of B&B's comments, the movie eventually finished.

I can't say much other than I'm grateful I saw the movie once before on the Friday because I probably spend more time being annoyed with Beavis and Butthead and listening to their comments rather than pay attention to the movie the second time round.

My Keiko opponent....myself...[6 May 2007]

The goal of kendo is "the development of self thought the application of the sword".

I had a rather nasty experience in my Kendo practise session on Thursday at the KenYuKai dojo that pushed me along this path, or so I think.

It was with one of that dojo's club members that I had an argument with. Actually, it was more of a one sided argument as he was the one hurling most of the abuse.

During a keiko match with him, he went for my men (head) target and followed  though past me. As he turned around to face me, I was ready to repay the strike with a men strike of my own. As I did it, I was told by him that I was wrong and should I ever do that to him again, I would be "£$%- up! Naturally, I was shocked by his comments as the strike is normal in keiko practise, and is used to take advantage of those who don't not block or get out of the way after a strike attempt!  I tried to explain the strike was a legitimate attempt, but saw my words were falling on deaf ears. We continued with the keiko match. However, I could feel his anger oozing from his armour (as well as see some whispered profanities from his mouth) which made it all that much easier to avoid his strike attempts and allow me to strike his targets...men..kote..men..men..kote...kote...men. Wasn't too much of a challenge as by now, his anger had reached such a height, I think l could swing a mallet over his head, crack his skull open, and he still would not feel anything (amazing what anger can make you do)! Anyway, I decided to stop the match as it would be pointless trying to continue.

Ray sensei, who was sitting on the sidelines but unfortunately did not see the incident,came over and asked why we had stopped. I explained what happened and he agreed with me that my strike was legit.He tried to explain this to my opponent, but again, nothing was getting through.

Anyway,to cut the story short, at the end of practise , Ray sensei asked Buster Sensei for his opinion on the matter,and again, Buster Sensei acknowledged my strike was legit. He called my opponent and I over to explain the situation. My opponent did the talking, saying things like I have no respect, didn't know keiko etiquette, etc, etc. I felt he was getting really personal at times! Buster Sensei listened and eventfully said that I was right as in keiko, it should be full-blooded attacks all the time if there is no major difference in rank. This, he continued, is how it is done here, in Japan, and everywhere else in the world where Kendo is practised.If you don't defend yourself as you turn to face your opponent, you deserve to be killed!

(This next bit is the best..) My opponent then shouted back saying that this should not be allowed and must be changed! Come on, bud! Kendo has been practised like this for decades and now YOU want to change it??!! Get real!

Well, he stormed out the dojo and Buster and Ray Sensei assured me there was nothing wrong with my keiko.

I spoke to my main sensei, Tony,  the next day about it, and he told me again that I had done nothing wrong and my keiko was good.

However, even with the approval of all my sensei's, the whole incident left a very bitter taste in my mouth and left me with plenty of questions - Was I too instinctive in my counter-attack by reacting like that? Was I too cocky or arrogant during our keiko or when he reprimanded me? Was I getting too personal in my keiko that he attacked me personally afterwards?

In my attempt to answer those question, I came up with the following answers:

1. Instinct is for animals. As a conscientious species, humans should control their instinct and use that in conjunction with logic and strategy in a combat situation. So, for me, I must fight back the instinctive reactions and try and blend instinct,logic and strategy into my kendo.

2. By trying to win in keiko, I am already projecting a certain amount of forcefulness that can be perceived to be arrogant or cocky. My goal in this aspect is to remain humble yet assertive at all times. Winning is not everything. I have a long way to go on this one.

3. Never get personal in a fight. It clouds judgement and makes you lose the most important thing you will need to survive: common sense. For this, I need to cultivate a rock for a heart, but a spirit that is indomitable.

I'm not sure if these are the right answers, but they are my answers nevertheless. Am I on the right path, or have I lost my direction along the way?

If it is the former, then I guess I have to say thanks to my opponent for forcibly pushing me along that path. If it is the latter, then someone please beat the crap out of me in the next keiko!

Ishimaru sensei (7th Dan Kendo)

Last night was the last training session with Ishimaru sensei (7th Dan Kendo), at the Ken Yuri Kai Dojo in Braamfontein, before he returns to Japan on Friday.

The one nice thing about Ishimaru sensei's explanation of Kendo is that he always relates it to how a real real sword would be used! Awesome stuff!

I managed to have another round of keiko (sparring) with him tonight, and as usual, I could not even touch him! At 60 years old, he's lightning fast and has this zanshin (fighting spirit) that freezes me in my place and causes my movements to be sluggish! This is the 4th time during this week that I managed to have keiko with Ishimaru sensei. I managed a reasonable kote strike on my first attempt that he acknowledged. Subsequently, he proceeded to knock me senseless!

However, believe it or not, he is actually a very nice person! Ishimaru Sensei came by our dojo, the San Kawa Kendo Dojo, on Tuesday night. Later on, we went for dinner with him and Buster sensei. There we got to know him a bit better and learn about the long history of the South African kendo Federation (SAKF) and everything they have been through. Turns out that about 10 years (if not more?) ago in Japan, Ishimaru sensei accident mentioned to a group of fellow Kendoka that he would be sent to South Africa for 3 years on a work assignment. One senior sensei, Omasa Sensei (8th Dan), heard him and TOLD him to teach the people in South Africa kendo! It wasn't a request, just a simple instruction. Anyway, he came here to South Africa and taught the likes of Buster Sensei, Tony Sensei and Ray Sensei, who are all now accomplished 5th Dan, 5th Dan and 4th Dan Kendoka, respectively. He was made the lifetime chairman of the SAKF and has comes through to South Africa every year for the past 7 years on his own expense to conduct the seminar.

The weekend seminar with him was great. Beside helping us refine our basic kendo techniques and kata, we were also briefly exposed to how to referee in a shiai (competition). It was fun!

This is only the second seminar that I have been on with him. My first was where I had a very memorable, if not embarrassing experience, as described in one of my earlier blog postings.

Anyway, Ishimaru sensei's instruction was invaluable and increased my knowledge and understanding of Kendo greatly! For that, I will always be grateful.

The cemetery ...

I went to the cemetery this past Friday (27 April - SA's public holiday, Feedon Day). Now,before you think strange of this statement, let me explain. In the Chinese culture, there is plenty of emphasis on paying homage to the family members who have passed on. On Friday, I went to pay my respects to my grandfather, uncle and other relatives.

The cemetery used to be a very special place for my "living" family, both immediate and extended, totalling as many as 23, including grandma, uncle, aunts and cousins. We would go to the cemetery as often as once a week on a Sunday. Besides being a place where we would come and pay our respects to our relatives who had passed on, it would also be a gathering place for us to chat, gossip and just catch up with each other. After we had done our rounds at the cemetery,we would head off to Chinatown for lunch.Later still we would go to one of the uncle's or aunt's house to go swim, ride bikes, play games, sing karaoke, play station, listen to the kids play music, watch TV, play pool, play mah jong, make dinner or have a braai (BBQ). It was great family bonding time! Those were the good 'ol days...

I took this picture of my mom and aunt walking at the cemetery. It is what remains of our once HUGE family. The family's been torn apart by personal grudges and misunderstandings. Gone are those days of gossiping about others.It's now replaced with gossiping about each other.

My Uncle Terrence, who immigrated to Oz with his wife and daughter, came back briefly last year for a short visit. He said that we should appreciate the time we can spend our family, purely for the fact that we can now.
Inevitably, the rounds in the cemetery will become longer, as we'll be visiting more relatives who pass on.

Family is important...it is vital.

I hope my family start burying those grudges first before we start burying each other.

Test of an IT Manager

I do endeavour to try and do one post a day. This one is to test my technical abilities (or lack thereof), especially since I'm suppose to be an IT manager (hey, I manage people and the IT THEY do)!

My experiment is to check if the email subscription from Feedburner is working or not.

So, here it goes.....

Kendo...

The South African Kendo Federation (SAKF) will be hosting their Annual Kendo Workshop this weekend (28-29 April) at the Japanese School in Emerentia, JHB, South Africa. Ishimaru sensei, 7th Dan, will once again be the main sensei to host the seminar. It's a pretty intensive workshop that involves 2 days of gruelling Kendo training!

The last time I went to this workshop was in in 2005, the first time ever for me! I remember getting ready to do some some keiko (sparring) with someone and Ishimaru sensei watching on from the side. Then, on my initial attack, screaming as loudly as I possibly could, my foot got stuck in my hakama (Japanese skirt like apparel) and I went first flying into the air, then tumbling down into the hard wooden floor! When I got up, I say Ishimaru sensei laughing away! So much for first impressions! Up until that point, I think I was pretty credible and looked pretty good in my Kendo gear, however, doing my version of Goth-gone-crazy head-bang, and seeing the sensei all slit-eyed from laughter, made me realise that, hey, we're all human still and one must never forget that humbleness is the root of all good!

So, I'm looking forward to this year's seminar. This time, I'm going to make sure that my hakama is pulled up beyond my knees so as to expose my sexy, hairy calf muscles and ensure I don't do my impersonation of that Goth ever again.

Day one....

My first post ever on a blog..hmm...what to say??!!! I must admit, this involves more hard-work than I originally thought! Not as easy as some of the other people make it out to be. So what exactly can I waffle on? Just got out of a really long meeting (+- 2hrs). It was in a dark, warm boardroom. For my friends who know me, yes, I did doze off slightly. HOWEVER, I did manage to keep my pen-hand writing to appear as if I was writing in my notebook! The beauty of being Asian with small eyes, is that no one can really dispute your eyes were closed cause we have such small eyes anyway! har har! :p Sorry, stupid Asian joke that only us Asians are allowed to use! Anyway, I did write sometime down.....wait..ok, just confirmed, it's nothing readible anyway.





I have training tonight at my Kendo club. Our annual seminar is this weekend. More on that later. Our webmaster recently revamped the site: www.sankawa.co.za.





Also, our cool logo was designed by my sister (see left):