5 years.

On the 21st May 2011 we went to our first Matsubayashi Ryu Karate class. 

I had been doing aikido for 2 1/2 years before this and had given my brothers judo classes a go when I was younger. It seems though even from day 1 with the Okinawan karate it just clicked. It was the right thing for me. 

I love the kata, the kumite, the kihon, the people and the places it takes you. 

Everything about it is good. 

Sensei, Senpai, dojo mates and everyone else you meet along the way. We're all different yet all the same. 

I've just reached my 5 year mark and I wouldn't change it for the world. 

It's been the best and hardest thing I've ever done and I'm excited for the day that I reach my 50th year anniversary. 

Frank :)

This is Frank. He is a hamster. Our new little flatmate. 

As with most things in Okinawa we got him from makeman. He's just a baby so let's hope I can keep him healthy and happy for a long time yet. 

It's been a couple of weeks since I got him and he seems to be settling well. He loves sunflower seeds and he doesn't seem to be nervous or shy. 

He got a new chewstick that he seems to really like. I have a feeling he will need lots of time in his ball to run or he will become a chubby little Frank. 

Next is to try and start teaching him some tricks! 

Sensei's Birthday

We had a party for sensei's 73rd birthday earlier this month. 

We had it at James' house and the Canadian karate guys came and the Arakaki dojo. 

We had lots of food and cake, lots of drink. Foreworks and karate demonstrations. 

There was an archery off between Miyagi Senpai and James. 

It was a lot of fun and I think everyone had a really great time. 

I hope Sensei has many many more happy birthdays. 

Habu Sensei, Matsuda Sensei and Meobukan

Today was a good day, this cold is just starting to take hold but we were going to see habu Sensei and actually get to train with him tonight so nothing will stop that. 

We stopped by at the blue cave for snorkelling first- the ocean and the fish were incredible but the cave wasn't quite how the guide leaflets made it out to be! 

Got some oni giri and onto habu sensei's house. We had coffee together (he gave me another one of Soma sensei's mugs- now I have two very special cups!) 

Then we got to join in the kids class- there were so many of them! Habu Sensei is strict with the small ones but they all still love him. Matsuda Sensei was there too. We all swapped kata and got to try one of their own original ones that Matsuda Sensei made (I can't remember the name!) it's fast, snappy and very very cool. 

Then we all change and shower and go to the fish resturant. There was a LOT of beer and awamori plus lots of good food fish, sashimi, tempura, oni giri, Goya champuru and miso shiru. 

I really love to be around these Sensei, they're incredible people and karateka. 

The advice to heal my cold- take awamori and swish it around your mouth a bit- then blow it out your nose. 

Don't think I'll try that remedy yet!! 

We stayed at habu Senseis house and after dinner spent some time in the dojo drinking and chatting. 

Best part of the morning was that the boys clearly have a hangover and so habu Sensei gets the eggs from his ducks (they live on his little land next door where he grows veggies!) he cracks them raw into the cup and makes the boys drink it. I really really thought they were going to throw up. They didn't so we went to eat pancakes. 

I love bananas and I love pancakes, can't think of a better way to start the day. 

Then as a bonus we stopped at Yara castle ruins in chatan on the way to add another to my list. Don't think we saw it all though! It's a bit of a maze! 

I need to google earth the spot and go explore again when I'm feeling better. 

It's surprisingly close to Kyan Senseis memorial. 

Stopped at the supermarket on the way home, bought a giant box of Kleenex and some juice and went home to bed. 

You have to be ready.

I have a cold. Nothing majorly new or life threatening there. I have asthma too-  I've had lung issues ever since I was born  but as I've grown and got healthier (I.e less fat and fitter) it's become really well controlled - in a good month I take no medications at all- every now and again I forget I even have it. 

However, recently because of this  I have become complacent and am not as vigilant about ensuring I have a inhaler around should I ever need it. 

Well today I was reminded how incredibly scary it is to be unable to breathe, to feel your lungs closing and then to realise that the inhaler you need (and could literally save your life) is sitting at home on the desk. To have that panic that I can only imagine must be what drowning feels like. Feeling like a fish out of water. Keep doing karate, you'll be okay. Becoming lightheaded and feeling that the breaths you take are becoming shallower, feeling the mucous build up in your lungs but not having the strength or lung capacity to cough it out. You know trouble is coming when you stop coughing and wheezing- silence comes. 

Focus on getting home- get the inhaler and you will be okay. Don't be stupid next time, keep one everywhere just in case, traffic lights need to change, pins and needles in your hands, just breathe, a couple more minutes, relax, let your body take over it, it will keep you alive as long as possible, why did you get so complacent, don't be scared- it will be okay. 

Get home, key in the door, get the inhaler, take it- too fast, not enough breathed in, try again, hands shaking. It starts to work. Relax, take some more, feel safe now, you can breathe again. Within a few minutes everything feels okay again. Tired. 

Forgetting how potentially life threatening Asthma can be is a dangerous game to play.

The trigger, a cold I knew I had- therefore I should have been way more prepared for this. You live and learn, although I know some people that weren't as lucky to get another chance. 

I am healthier and fitter and have a LOT less issues than I did before which is great but clearly for me, this is one thing I'll have forever hence I'll need to be prepared for the worst forever, and so with the current cold and attack this morning I'll be spending the next month or two taking my steroid preventer inhaler, no doubt some more of my rescue inhaler and possibly some oral steroids in the next couple of days. 

Today has reminded me how far I've come- attacks like today's used to be a regular thing, I spent a long time on steroids and used that as a excuse for my weight, which made the asthma worse. A vicious circle. 

I'm lucky to be where I'm at but I still need to be careful. Just like karate I suppose- always be ready for worst outcome but do your best to never get into it. 

Kokoro, Greek food and Camping...

We went camping to ike jima again. We did this last year - I think around the same time. 

We went for the Little Greek Kitchen's Mayday/ Greek Easter party.

We had some incredible food, a beautiful beach (hammock to read in!) and great weather. 

The food was great- fresh Greek salad, lamb and rosemary and pitta bread with really good sauces. 

We had some food then went over to the beach to put the tents up. 

Pretty great view from the tent eh. 

The boys did archery while I finished reading my book in the hammock,  I got it recently and I was really enjoying it.  

It's called Kokoro. I was in the book shop and it caught me because it's a word I actually understand- it means heart. 

Not quite what I was expecting but nevertheless a brilliant book. 

 I went for a wander around the island- it's like what I imagine old Okinawa to be like. 

We have some more food - Pamela was incredible at looking after us (and everyone else) and we go to bed. 

I stayed up and watched the stars for a while- incredible what you can see when you're away from the light of the cities and houses. 

I didn't sleep much, lots of smoke from our fire (the wind kept changing) and being outside in general meant every sound woke me up.

On the plus side this happened at 6am. 

It felt as though the entire world was alsleep except me.

Everything was so quiet and peaceful and beautiful.  

We stayed at Pamela's for the morning and then we made our way home. 

Sunday was a good day. :) 

Sick!

I got sick. The sickest I've been since I got here. I think it was some sort of virus bug thing, but I felt really awful. 

I knew sensei's brother was coming from Wakayama  to train for a couple of days so it couldn't have happened at a worse time really. 

I spent three days in bed and then had to get up to go and see Seikitchi-San. 

He is SO sweet! He bought me mikan cookies- so thoughtful! I love mikans. 

We trained together- I did the best I could  considering I still felt really unwell. 

Then I'm starting to get back a bit more energy so decided it was time to clean the germs, everything went to the laundrette. 

Including Jeff. 

Poor Jeff. 

Everything's clean and fresh and almost back to somewhat normal now. As am i. Nearly. 

Pizza the old fashioned way

So today, I made pizza. 

That in itself isn't exactly unusual considering I make it at the bar a lot. However today was different because the mixer is broken right now. Seems a small issue, but first- pizza dough needs a lot of kneading and second- we're making more than just one or two pizzas, we're making 40 at a time!

Therefore I did it the old fashioned way- the way granny would ;) 

Now I have really strong arms. 

These pizza are extra special because they are completely handmade. 

I'm proud :) 

Never ever give up.

So things have been a bit hard recently, in all kinds on ways. Not ones I want to share with the world particularly but those who are close know and (I hope!) they understand. 

Seems what I need to do spends a lot of the day staring me in the face. 

Funny thing is, I got this written in Japanese so no one in England could understand it - except me. Now I'm here and everyone understands! Shoganai - there's nothing I can do about it now. I chose Japanese because I love Japan and Okinawa and the culture here. 

When I'm finding the world all too much of a big scary horrible place (I think as we all do sometimes) I like to go to probably my favourite place in Okinawa- the peace park. It is simply the most beautiful, calming place I've ever been. 

It's so big there's so many places besides the main section to go and explore, hide and reflect on everything. 

The idea of the peace park is all about having the 'Okinawan heart and spirit' -it's remembering and learning about the history of the island and life but forgiving and developing resilience to move on and keep going- I think I need to develop one of those! 

I think Okinawan people are incredible and hopefully by being here I can learn as much as I can off them. Which in turn will make me the best person I can be. 

The first step in doing that is to never ever give up. 

Paul ❤️

Recently my England dojo family has lost a member, a piece of our puzzle is now missing. 

I remember meeting Paul in my second ever karate class, we trained side by side for the first couple of weeks and then on the evening of Westy's shodan grading Russell and I got sent next door with Paul for the whole class to  warm up and learn Fukyugata Ni it was like being in the army- Sensei had to tell us to be quiet!  He was strict but kind and funny. 

He taught us in the way only Paul could. He welcomed us into the dojo. 

We got to know each other better at all the coming classes and events and seminars, we got on well and discovered he was probably one of the most genuinely caring people I've ever met who would do anything for anybody. 

Justin and Paul did my 5th kyu grading, he was a harsh judge but it was what I needed then, it was a couple of months before I came to Okinawa for the first time and I needed to take things a bit more seriously- he gave me the kick I needed to do that. It worked. Okinawa went well and the day I came back Sensei gave me my 4th kyu. 

He was the one which taught me early on how to stall Sensei when we wanted a break - simply ask the most in depth historical or technical question that comes to mind- Sensei can't help but fall into a nice long lecture ;) 

Funnily, he would then tell me I need to shut up and train! 

We had our differences and arguments in the 4 years we had training together but I think that's because we were both so similar and so passionate about what we were doing together. Karate. 

He was one of the most supportive people when I told him I would be going to live in Okinawa for a while. He gave me the best 'pep talk' the night before I left - basically he told me to shut up, listen and learn as much as I can and to come back and share everything, to help everyone improve and discover the true essence of karate. I've been trying my best to do that. I'll keep doing that. I will come back and teach anything and everything I can soon. 

It's horrible to think that we will never get to train together again - especially now I've grown up, learnt to shut up, got my black belt and been taught the rest of the kata. 

I remember watching the black belts in the dojo doing the higher Kata and dropping off one by one, as the kata got more and more advanced - even when Paul didn't really remember them he would not drop out. I really liked that about him. 

One of my favourite memories was when he would come to karate late and the downstairs door was locked- he started throwing a variety of objects at the window to get our attention. There were a lot of heads sticking out the windows that night. 

After being in Okinawa I've come to learn how fundamentally important dojo families and loyalty is and Paul understood this without ever coming to Okinawa. Everytime I do Fukyugata Ni I'll think of you, you taught me a lot and I'll continue to learn. 

What can I say, no words describe it all and I don't think it will hit me 100% that you're actually gone until I come back to the dojo and not see you there. 

You were my senpai and my friend, you loved karate and your karate family- we loved you too, which is why there's such a big hole in our puzzle now, a hole that no one else will fit, and so we will remember you and all the good times we had and train hard, as you did and as you would want us to. We will miss you. 

Thank you for being a part in my journey Paul. 

Carrots, cake and the last day of school

So recently I've been so crazy busy, I've been starting writing posts and not finishing or uploading them so I'll just do all of that now. 

There was a day a couple of weeks ago where all I wanted to do was eat cake, now I haven't found a cake I really like that I can buy on the island yet and so naturally this means I need to bake it if I want one. We went to karate in the morning and then James and I went to the reuse shop to try and find a chair to go with my desk, we got one. I also got the coolest new knife set. Very excited to be chopping everything up! 

Then I will go to the bar to make my cake, I wanted to make coffee and chocolate cake but James got choice because I forgot my keys in his car and he had to drive back to mine to give them to me. 

James chose carrot cake. Not exactly a surprise, he doesn't get bored of it. Ever. 

As carrots must be in season and were so cheap I made lots of ninjin shiri shiri for breakfast to go with my rice and soup. 

It's basically stir fried carrots and onions with egg (and I added a bit of bacon). It's good. 

I'm going to add in other bakes I've done recently here too. 

I make the pizza for the bar, today I got a bit bored of all the rectangles and so I made a octopus: 

A leg fell off so I ate it. As you do. 

I've also been trying to eat and make more fish, considering it's so cheap and there's so much of it here. 

I made these chilli and lime fish cakes. 

And I made cheesecakes, two for seli's birthday and one for Habu Sensei. 

I did a triple chocolate one, mixed berry one and a chilli, lime and vanilla one for habu Sensei. 

I think he liked it! He wouldn't exactly tell me if it was terrible anyways!!

Habu Sensei, Sanshin Sensei and Pottery Sensei.

Tonight was very very cool. Habu Sensei, Matsuda Sensei and Soma Sensei came to the bar. They are just the best bunch of people. 

They are everything you expect okinawan Sensei to be and more. They are so kind and down to earth, probably the nicest people on the planet and yet amazing at karate, the art of learning to fight and kill with the goal of never needing to use it.

I don't think these people will ever truly need to use their karate - simply because of the kind of people they are, but maybe they are the people they are, because of karate. 

Nagamine Sensei hit the nail on the head with: 'have a devil's fist and a saint's heart'. 

Between them, they cover all aspects of okinawan culture- Habu sensei the Habu hunter, Matsuda Sensei the Sanshin maker and Soma Sensei the pottery master- they are each very skilled at their other things - and then they all train karate together. 

What with it being a karate bar, filled with karate people, James got beaten up -again. ;) 

Habu Sensei is just something else. 

He has really given me some incredible experiences in Okinawa and is someone I really look up to. He is so kind and would do anything for anyone- he see's the good in everyone and is a true gentleman -yet his karate and his kata is out of this world- sharp, snappy, powerful, precise and more than anything- incredibly fast. Even when he is drunk. 

He really is a very special Sensei. 

Oh, and he told me it was okay to have let the snake he gave us go. I couldn't kill and eat it like he suggested, he will probably have to catch it again when it comes out and scares people again but he was okay with that, he said I have a good heart, I think he would have done the same unless he really needed the snake. 

Recipes- England meets Okinawa...

Food is a tricky subject in my world.

I love it and hate it at the same time, I adore cooking with it and creating new dishes and despite appearances, I do like eating and trying new things. 

However the past couple of years have been completely focussed on losing weight and becoming smaller and healthier, and with that I have become so concerned about getting fat again that I have ended up with what I call 'safe food' and then there's everything else- that I just can't eat. 

Now I am 40kg smaller and healthier I want to rediscover what I love to do and what my most favorite person in the world taught me to do. Baking, cooking and eating good food. 

I am going to share my  favorite recipes I've made so far- and make more effort to experiment and enjoy the eating again as much as I love the cooking and the creation of it. 

I've been getting to grips with the food here and also trying to create foods that are familiar from home. 

This has resulted in me ending up with some fusion recipes where I've had to substitute ingredients or where I've liked something and wanted to mix it into something I already make. 

So fusion recipie number one is: 'Touganzuki Scones'.

Touganzuki is a traditional Okinawan sweet made using Tougan - which is an Okinawan melon -also used to make soup. 

The sweet it is still prepared in the same way as it was for the Ryukyu Royalty and so it truly a traditional Okinawan sweet. I think it has the texture of a fresh apple- crisp and juicy and it is incredibly sweet, it holds its shape as flavour when used in baking too- Hence, perfect for my recipie. 

'Touganzuki and Cinnamon Scones' 

Difficulty- Easy 

Prep time- 20 mins 

Baking - 20 mins 

Quantity - 8 (approx)

Ingredients: 

350g flour (+5g of baking powder)

80g butter 

60g sugar 

175ml milk (warm) 

10ml shiquasa (or lemon) juice

200g touganzuki 

15g cinnamon 

5g nutmeg 

5g salt

1 egg yolk (for glazing) 

Method: 

1- Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl. 

2- Cut the butter into cubes and rub it into the flour until you have what looks like breadcrumbs. 

3- Add the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg and mix. 

4- Chop the Touganzuki into small pieces, add to the bowl and gently mix. 

5- Add the lemon juice to the warm milk and add this to the dry ingredients. 

6- Fold the mixture together until it forms a lose dough, 

7- Place onto a lightly floured surface and knead until it comes together (not too much) 

8- Roll the dough to a 4-5cm thickness and use a cookie cutter to form the rounds (re- knead and roll as needed- less is better though!) 

9- Cut 8 scones and put them onto a baking tray and brush the top with beaten egg yolk.

10- Bake in the oven at 180c for 15-20 minutes until brown and risen. 

Scones are one of the first things I ever remember making- they are simple and easy as long as the recipe is followed! 

I enjoy baking these and of course- it goes well with a pot of tea! 

New menu, new shoes.

So recently we have been testing new recipes out for a new menu at the bar, 

I've been able to help design and test them which has been a really cool thing to do. 

One thing we hope to start doing is offering sharing plates for groups to have, we will offer three different ones which will look something like this (remember that this is prototype number 1 and things might change!)

Meat plate... 

Fish plate... 

Vegetarian plate... This one will change slightly- we were using a smaller board as we ran out of big ones and we may be adding Goya/ avocado chips/ edamame/ salad. 

This is a really fun project. Trying to create food that okinawans and visitors will like is a challenge. 

And I've got my new shoes. Haven't really had a chance to test them properly the last month or so because I've been really crazy busy and tired too- too tired to wake up early and go running! So they've been sitting by the door waiting for me to use them properly. Soon I will! 

Blueberry cake, Goya chips and Sensei

Tonight Maeshiro Sensei came to the bar. He is 84 years old and is probably the fittest 84 year old I've met in my life. 

He is the nicest man. He trained with Chibana  Sensei, whenever I've met a Sensei recently I've asked them to tell me about their Sensei. 

I've noticed all of their eyes light up- you can see that they all absolutely loved their Sensei and had the upmost respect and admiration for them. 

It's been the question that they all think about for a second and then you can see that they so fondly remember their Sensei, they all sound like incredible role models and I think they would be proud of their students. 

Maeshiro Sensei said that Chibana Sensei was strict when they were training and a true gentleman the rest of the time. 

He was a teacher in Okinawa- which I'm discovering a lot of the old Sensei were. 

It seems to be a natural part of their lives to love teaching and helping people with anything. 

This is a 84 year old that loves to cook and used to own a restaurant/ izakaya.  He is still lightening fast and incredibly powerful (demonstrated by hitting the bar, kote kite style- HARD!) and he has the most amazing memories and stories to tell about Okinawa and Japan. 

We gave him cake and Goya chips- he said my Goya chips reminded him of traditional okinawan food- such a compliment! Then again he also said there is not a single food he doesn't like. 

I could spend hours listening and learning about life from this Sensei. Like a wise old grandad- that is just incredibly fit, healthy and strong. 

Intensive training review

So, we did it. We made it through the entire week of training. Plus regular training and work. We only missed the Tuesday to go to Arakaki dojo and the Friday afternoon to prep for the party in the evening. 

I spent the entire week trying to hide from the film crews and they caught me on the last day. I'm not good at speaking to people, not new people with tv cameras anyways. 

It was so cool. Oyakawa Sensei taught us a lot. We did 4 kata, lots of bunkai and kote kite. Very cool. 

We did ananku, wanshu, seisan and tokumine no kon (bo kata).

Oyakawa's Sensei was Nakazato Sensei who was Chotoku Kyan's student. A very pure lineage. 

Most questions we asked Oyakawa Sensei he gave quite short and direct answers to, then i (James) asked him to tell us about his Sensei, and you could see him think about it for a second and then so many memories and stories came back to him. I really love the fact that you can see how much admiration and respect these Sensei have for their Sensei. 

he said he was a kind man who was very strict about timekeeping. 

He was really good at playing the sanchin and liked to drink awamori. He was a teacher/ worked in education (can't remember exactly). 

One day when I'm old, I'm going to be able to tell stories all about my time in Okinawa and the Sensei I've been able to meet and train with and learn from. 

I'm pretty sure that will be the thing that makes my eyes all sparkly and bright again too.