I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned my List of Lifetime Ambitions in any of my previous posts. I wrote this list last April, after I decided I was going to travel. It was an idea given to me by my father. While they are all goals that I aim to fulfil in my lifetime, I hoped to achieve many of them during this period of travelling. Below is the current list (since being lifetime ambitions, it's likely that I will accumulate more as I continue to grow and change with age).
- Achieve Sandan (3rd Dan) in Shotokan Karate (Completed late April 2010)
- Run a marathon (Due to be completed April 17th 2011 - Sponsor me www.justgiving.com/samaboudara)
- Climb Everest - In part! - (Due to be completed January 2011)
- Jump out of a plane and skydive (Completed in New Zealand September 2010)
- Bungee jump (Completed in New Zealand September 2010)
- Take-up Jujitsu (One day in the future)
- Learn to play Clare de Lune on piano (One day in the future)
- Volunteer in a third world country (Completed in the Philippines Oct-Dec 2010 - but I feel I will be wanting to do more of this in the future)
- Study Shotokan Karate at the JKA Honbu in Tokyo (Completed 2 days ago! read on for details!)
- Become a member of Mensa (Completed May 2010)
- Learn to solve the Rubik's Cube (Completed October 2010)
- Visit every continent in the world (one day perhaps!)
- Travel horizontally around the world (Due to be completed January 2011)
- Fall in Love and get married (One day!)
- Have 2-4 children (One day!)
- Visit Turkey and discover the Aboudara family roots (Hope to be completed February 2011)
- Do the splits (I'm not far off - training every day in Japan will help!)
- Attend a major music festival (One summer I'd like that!)
- See the Northern Lights (Completed December 2009 - this was the only ambition that I had already achieved when I wrote this list!)
So I've now been in Japan for 3 days. To be truthful, initially I didn't want to be here. This is the one place that has been top of my list of destinations for so long but when it finally came to arriving here - I didn't care. The prospect of being all alone was not a pleasant one. Up to now, I've had other people around me throughout all my travels. First there was camp. Then I was with Andy through Vegas. Then Andy and I met a whole host of other backpackers on our Kiwi Experience bus through New Zealand. Australia was a continuation of this, as well as being with Cazz and then my cousin Max. Finally, in the Philippines I was part of an organised volunteering programme with plenty other like minded Westerners. Japan is the first place where I am completely alone and 3 days in, I'm still alone.
I always knew that this would be the one leg, that I had to do alone. Coming here to practise karate is something so personal, that I knew no one else would really be able to appreciate it and dragging a friend along, requiring them to work around my training schedule would not have been fair. I hadn't realised just how rare backpackers would be in Tokyo. There really are barely any. It makes sense I suppose. Japan is such an expensive country that travellers would rather spend time in China, Vietnam, Thailand etc. I've also been told that this isn't a popular season for backpackers in Tokyo so I guess that makes it worse. To put things into perspective, I'm about to spend my fourth night in an 8-bed dorm and have not had a single other room mate to date!
I think the other thing that makes you feel lonely is the lack of spoken English here. In many non-English speaking countries, most individuals can hold conversations with you in broken English. Take the Philippines for example, almost everyone can understand English and converse with Westerners to a reasonable level. Japan seems to be such an advanced country that they don't require English at all. The majority of people here speak as much English as I speak Japanese (virtually none). So going to bars or pubs is sort of pointless as I'm unlikely to find anyone who will understand me.
But...and this is a huge but, all of the above is completely worth it for what I get to experience here. I am in Tokyo to train at the JKA Honbu. The JKA is the most renowned karate association in the world and the Honbu dojo in Tokyo is its central hub and a worldwide mecca. Since it's origins the JKA Honbu has prided itself on the finest karate instruction, producing the world's most supreme karate exponents and practitioners. For me, it has been a dream to train here since I achieved my 1st dan black belt 12 years ago. I originally first planned my visit 2 years ago, but due to a job offer I received, I had to cancel my trip.
I went to visit the Honbu on my first day in Japan. I can't describe to you what it was like walking there from Iidabashi train station. I had spent 2 years memorising the directions based on photos from google maps. To see it all live, was the most amazing sensation ever. I arrived and stood in the doorway for a few minutes, completely in awe. The man at reception spoke to me as though it was any ordinary mundane day at the JKA (because essentially it was!) but for me this was one of the biggest moments of my life. He then answered my questions about training fees and times and gave me directions to the nearest Tokaido shop to buy a new karate gi (uniform). By the way, this young man turned out to be the 2009 All Japan kumite champion and one of the Junior instructors at the Honbu. During our conversation, Sensei Osaka, 8th Dan (one of the world's most renowned instructors) walked straight past. I stopped to greet him of course!
The next day, I visited the Tokaido shop and bought a new gi. Unfortunately, I'm a bit of a connoisseur when it comes to karate gear but after 15 years of training, I feel I'm justified. There aren't many things that I have expensive taste for, but when it comes to a karate gi, I don't settle for cheap quality. So I may need to live off scraps that I find on the streets in order to work this into my budget...but who needs food anyway!
Later that day, I had my first training session at the Honbu, delivered by Sensei Tanayama, 6th Dan. I wish I could go into full detail on what we covered in that session, but I'll simply bore you. For me, it was a wonderfully exhilarating experience. Everything from the dojo itself, the method of teaching, the demands of the class, the spirit of the students, the expertise of the sensei and the fact that I felt part of a huge dynasty was completely incredible. After that session, I decided I had to train more regularly than I had originally intended. The Honbu is open 6 days a week. My plan is to train every one of those 6 days and then attend a second session on every other day, totalling 9 sessions per week, up until they close for Christmas on 22nd December. By then, it won't be long until Hazel joins me here, so it should be perfect timing!
Anyway, that's about all I can manage typing for now. Good news is there's an Australian couple staying in my dorm room tonight who just arrived from Hiroshima, having already spent time in Tokyo a few weeks ago. They're only here for one night, but it turns out they purchased two return bullet train tickets to Kyoto which they can no longer use. They already sold one for half price to another person they met and I have agreed to buy the other at half price as well. Bullet train tickets are really expensive so managing to get one at half price is fantastic and I'll now start looking into visiting Kyoto on Sunday.
Much love!
Sam
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