April 20^th, 2015

April 13^th has now become a very special day for me. Here's why.

At Tokai University, and in most Japanese judo clubs, the foreigners will sit and bow to the right of the senseis, set apart from the rest of the team, both at the beginning and the end of each practice. This clearly makes the difference between who is part of the club, and who isn't. No one ever breaks this rule, even when Japaneses outside Tokai University join the practice.

When my sister came and trained here at Tokai three years ago, she was allowed by Shirase Sensei to sit with the girls from the team after four months, no longer being apart as a complete foreigner.

Now obviously she still wasn't "officially" part of the team, but I would be ready to bet that this must have been a first in the history of Tokai University's women's team.

Three years later, here I come, having to practice with over 100 guys, each practice starting with the bow during which I stand to the right side of the senseis. By this point, for my own mental health, I had eradicated the idea of ever being allowed to stand with the team, due to many reasons. One, the team is a men's team, which means they are a lot more strict. Two, there are over 100 members, thus many of them do not really know me well. Three, I don't believe the sensei likes me very much haha. Four, I missed a lot of practices due to school, injuries, and colds.

But one thing that has happened over the course of my training here is that Sato Sensei has taken an interest in me. I really am thankful for him taking "care" of me, and really treating me as any other member. He would often call me over during practice, see how my injury was, compliment me on my Japanese, and ask me for my school schedule.

Now why is April 13^th important? You probably guessed it by now. As we were getting in line that day to finish off practice, Sato Sensei and I made eye contact, and I got this weird feeling. I wasn't expecting anything, so I just shook it off, and got ready to bow. Before anything happened, Sato Sensei called out: "Shiokawa!" I looked in his direction and he then gestured me to go sit with the 2nd year students. I froze for a split second, then answered: "Shitsureshimasu." which literally means "I will be rude." but is used in situations where one has caused work for someone else. I then ran over to stand behind the 2nd year students, and I had my first bow as a Tokai Judo Club Member.

It didn't really hit me until I got back to the dorm. I had done the impossible. I had reached one of my goals. I had persevered, and it paid off. This just really gives me motivation to practice and really be part of the club. It's only going to get harder, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

For those who are unfamiliar with the judo in Japan, here is a summary of Sato Sensei:

Mr. Nobuyuki Sato – Head Instructor (Tokai University), President of All Japan University Judo Federation, Board Member at Kodokan (judo’s birthplace), World Champion in 1967 (Light-Heavy Weight), All Japan Men’s Open Champion in 1970. Sato Sensei is well known in Japan as the instructor of Mr. Yasuhiro Yamashita.