The other day, I was doing weights in the dojo's basement with some of the boys, and a guy named Nomura had been doing some exercises using two dumbbells of about 8 kg each. After I was done with one exercise, I went over to the bench next to Nomura's while he went to chat with a few other friends. I was tempted to take his dumbbells, since he didn't seem to be using them seriously, but I decided to go pick up those of 10 kg instead.

When I started doing my exercises, I heard him yell out something. I wasn't really paying attention to their conversation, to be honest, but I caught that one. He had said that I had taken his dumbbells, speaking indirectly to anyone listening, but not expecting me to catch on. On top of that, he had used the term "Mamo-ri" instead of my real name "Mamoru" to make sure I didn't understand. But many people had addressed me by that name before so this time, I caught on. I caught on and simply told him that no, I had not touched his dumbbells and that they were still where he had left them, near the bench next to mine.

He was slightly surprised, put down the new dumbbells he had already picked up, and returned to his bench and quickly changed the topic of conversation with his friend, most likely slightly embarrassed.

Not a huge feeat, but I think that catching on to a conversation while not paying attention is something one can only achieve with a certain knowledge of the language. In other words, progress has been made.

As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, Mr. Sato has been taking fairly good care of me. But it has come to a point that I can't even believe. First, he helped me at the Yokohama practice. Then he invited me for supper and drove me back to the university. He also said that he would drive me back every Thursday.

But it did not stop there. The next practice on Friday morning, after the warm up, the fighters for that weekend's tournament lined up to throw, as they usually do. They called out whoever they wanted as partner and got to practice throwing before their tournament.

Now I never thought I would ever do such a thing since I'm not part of the team and I have no tournaments. Yet as we were doing our normal uchi-komi during the warm up, Mr. Sato called me and told me that I would be joining those throwing to practice the combination he had shown me the night before. I could NOT believe it. But as the athletes were called up to line up, I kept my eyes on Mr. Sato who soon called out my name and told me again to get in line. That way everyone knew.

My first partner was Fubuki, but I went and asked many different fighters, including Honma, the coach who had accompanied me to the Touin Gakuen University. I think I threw over 30 times in those seven minutes, the most I have thrown since I have been here. Many were wondering why I was up there and one even asked me if I had a tournament coming up. I didn't care, I was up there. It was an opportunity to throw, and I didn't waste any time.

Once that was done, I was quite exhausted. I always wondered why the fighters would take their time throwing. I understood why, haha. Mr. Sato told me I was done for now, and the practice continued. About five minutes before the "randori" started, Mr. Sato once again called out my name. But he also called out Haruka Tachimoto's name. He brought us to one side of the dojo, took a chalk and a belt, and just as he had done for many of the team's top athletes, he made me draw two circles onto the mats. After that, he showed Haruka and I what he wanted us to work on. We had to practice a specific foot sweep while hoping in the shape of the circle. We did this maybe 40 times. He would come back from time to time, show us something new to work on, and we were off again. Haruka is quite a strong athlete and knew much more than me what to do, so she gave me tips here and there. After that, he told us we were done, and we could go back to the normal practice. I thanked him and joined in as much as I could.

By that point, I was quite exhausted. It has been a while since I had done so many repetitions without breaks. The club doesn't really usually run that way. But it just gave me more energy. To have someone look over you while everyone else seems not to care can be quite... moving. Motivating. I am very greatful for him taking the time for me.

Recently, I just completed one year of living in Japan. It also represents one year of living in Tokai which is also the longest amount of time I have lived alone... I'm currently at the same tournament I came to watch with the team soon after my arrival in Japan. In other words, I've been here for a while.

Ever since my father and sister came to visit me in April, Mr. Sato had started telling me that once I finish my classes, he would take me to a different university to practice. Somewhere a little less stronger than Tokai, where I could get a more... fitted practice. Well, according to Mr. Sato of course.

On Wednesday morning, after our weight training practice, I weighed myself.

Body weight: 67.8 kg
Body fat (%): 8.9 %

This is the lowest I have been in weight in almost two years, including back when I was in Canada.

Work hard. Play hard. Fail. Succeed.

Being abroad for a long time, most people gain a fair amount of weight, as did I. In January, I was at 73.6 kg I believe, meaning I have lost about 6 kilograms. How did I do it? Let's just say I wanted it.

As my mom always reminds me, when you decide to do something, you'll do it. You'll do it because you can. The only thing that's stopping you is you.

Up at 6. Washroom. Running clothes. Meeting at 6:45. We ran up the hill here twice, which is one very long slow slope up. Then we did some sprints. After that, shower, and breakfast. Now we had our first decent break.



Since we had some time, and I knew that at the end of the week, I wouldn't want to do so, I went out for a walk, and took some pictures of the surroundings (Fujimi Heights, Nagano, Japan).

Now the next practice was my first time doing something like this. We made our way outside in front of the gym with just our gi tops. We ended up doing about 30 minutes of gripping exercises outside, in the sun, in shoes, shorts, and judo tops. I thought we would end there since we do have a third practice, but no. We grabbed our stuff, and headed to the open gym area where the trainers had prepare a series of exercises. They had placed various weight exercises tools in two big circles, one for the heavy weights, and the other for us, the light weights. We each grabbed a partner, and I was paired with Fubuki. What happened next was what I had watched many of them do just before a tournament. We do every exercise for 30 seconds, then move to the next one. Fubuki went up first, and I cheered him on through the first round. Then it was my turn. It was hard, yeah, but I just felt glad I was part of them doing it. I had always wondered how it was to do so.

I'm thankful for Fubuki for cheering me on the whole time, it kept me pushing. Sometimes, Masaya from the group right ahead of us would cheer me on too, yelling "Mamoru! Hayaku!" with means hurry up Mamoru (my Japanese name). We did two rounds each, and then finished off bowing.

After changing, straight to the food hall. This time, I was forced to sit with many of the 4th year students. I didn't really talk much, but when I didn't I was stared at harshly. Then one of them called me Michael, and then said he didn't know my name. I realized that because of the language barrier, I was an easy pray for them to pick on.

This is going to be a hard week. Physically, but also mentally. One can even say emotionally?

Next practice. Was hard. My back, neck and arms were completely ripped off their skin. Lots of gripping we did. Lots of gripping.

Now after supper, I did something I never thought I would do at a training camp. I went for an extra workout. Fubuki was the one who invited me. He said he was going to do some exercises, and asked if I wanted to join. At first, I thought it was crazy. I was thinking about the next day to come, and how I didn't want to be too tired, but then I thought, hey, if he can do it, so can I. And so I went to the gym area of the camp, and worked on my abs, my back, and my pectoral muscles. Unbelievable. As my father often told me before I came here, this is not the kind of level of dedication I will find when I come back to Canada.

In preparation for the upcoming summer training camp, I performed various activities. I obviously packed my bags and such, making sure I had enough shampoo, tooth paste for example. I also prepared my medicine for my throat, making sure I had enough. Since this was my first time going out to a training camp here with the team, I wasn't too sure what to expect, and with my father being worried, it only made me worried. So I contacted many fellow club mates and those in charge to make sure I had the right information. It took many messages back and forth since no one seemed to know anything...


Now one of the biggest parts of my preparation for this camp started two weeks before. In order to perform my best at this camp, and not get any injuries, I had to make sure I was in my best condition. I must say, since it was summer, it wasn't always easy to get myself motivated to go and kill myself doing chin-ups and such. But I managed to get enough exercise in to feel confident.

Yoooouuuussshhhh! Here I come training camp.

Today, before leaving to Shinjuku to meet Anzu, I stopped by the book store part of the station. I just planned on looking around at magazines and possible books I could buy later. Yet, last time I had entered a manga store, it had been with my sister in Yaita, where my grandmother lives. There, I could have bought about fifty books, but I ended up just picking two, which had been a good choice. But at that time, one of these mangas had caught my eye. It was called Orange and it was about life as a Japanese. Wanting to know about that, I hesitated buying it, but in the end I didn't.

Now today, in the shop, the same manga was there, and for some reason, I picked it up and walked to the cashier with it. Now I had prepare to study my textbook on the way there, so it's not like I was missing something to do. I had no idea what took me.

Now on my way to Shinjuku, I told myself I have to study a little at least, so I opened my textbook and studied for about 30 minutes. Then I changed to this manga I had just purchased. I must say I find it very interesting. It is most likely made for girls since it has some romance stuff and the main character is a girl, but... I like it. The story is funny, it's VERY easy to read, and I get to learn Japanese expressions used by young people!

With Anzu I had fun in Shinjuku. We basically just walked around, grabbed some awesome Curry Rice, and then rode the Yamanote Line, which runs in a circle, stopping at Shibuya. There we walked some more, grabbed fried potatoes and soon headed back.


On the way back, standing, sitting down, I just kept reading. I read the whole way back. Now I don't read nearly as fast as a Japanese person, which I find, makes it that much more interesting. But I really enjoy it. I don't believe I'm at the level of reading a full out book, so one great part about Japan is manga. A way to read even with a small knowledge of the language.

Ever since I found out there would be another speech contest during the spring semester, I was determined to participate in it. Last time, it didn't go as planned, and so I wanted a chance to redeem myself. Therefore, during the spring break, I had plans to write my speech ahead of time. But just as any other goal I set myself for that spring break, it didn't happen. But I did find a topic on which I wished to write my speech.

This time around I wanted to write something funny. Soon came the time where the teachers started mentioning the speech contest in class. This time, it would be slightly different. I could just sign up to the eliminations, give a speech and get to participate in the university contest.

No.

This time, I had to first be in the top three of my class. Then the top three would compete against the top three of the third class, making us six in total, but only ONE would be allowed to compete in the university's contest.

When came the time to write our speeches in class, it was at the same time we had our mid-term exam as well as making our preparations to go to the middle school in Yokohama. I had already told myself that I was going to make it to the university contest, but the teacher didn't quite realize that. They gave us very limited time to write our speeches in our own words.

See, I wanted to first write my speech in English, then get my dad to translate it, then review it many times with my friends, obtaining a variety of opinions, then lastly, revise it all with my teachers. It did end up going through all those steps, but during a much shorter amount of time than I had planned.

Finally, came the day for the 4th class's contest. I performed my speech almost perfectly. Having learned from last time, nerves were not needed here. According to plan, I was selected to be among the top three of the class who would then compete the next day with the upper class.

Video: https://youtu.be/KvSFlynERPM

The next day, the nerve level was cool. I had prepared enough, I was relaxed. I was there, in the moment. I ended up being the first one to present. I stood up in front of both classes, and performed my speech. I missed two quite important lines in the middle of my speech this time, but I still felt good about it. I had learned to just go with it, and not show that I made a mistake... which ended up working.

After a short break, the professors returned to the classroom with the results in their heads. The first girl called up was Sara, a Mongolian women from my class who had spoken about her life as a young mother going to university. At this point, I wasn't sure if this meant she was the one to compete in the university contest, but my friend Nadi kept reassuring me. Next called up was Mai, a half-Japanese, half-Israelian girl from the third class, who's speech had been about gay marriages in her country.

This time, before calling the name of the next person, the teacher announced that this next student had performed the best speech, and would be the one to perform in the university's contest. Hopes high, heart beating, I waited.

...


...


...


My name was CALLED!

I walked to the front of the class, proud, ready to receive my certificate.

Now tomorrow, I'm going to perform my speech in front of many Japanese students for another chance to win this contest. I am prepared and ready to go. This time, I won't let the nerves get to me. This time, I won't hold back.

I performed my speech last Friday in front of all the Bekka students. I wore a purple dress shirt with grey suit pants. I was clean, ready and calm. I had practiced my speech enough. I knew what  I was going to tell my audience. When my turn came, I walked up to the microphone, took a deep breath, and let it all out. I ended up performing my speech a little too fast. I also unconsciously missed a few words here and there, but I still believe I performed well. I walked off stage a little frustrated but somewhat satisfied. By the time the last contestant had finished his speech, I was fairly confident I had a shot at winning the contest. While the judges left the room to consult, a few of the students had been asked to organize a few short skits to help pass time. I went over to my teachers, first Mrs. Nishiyama, who insisted I had performed well. After that, I spent a good ten minutes talking to Mrs. Miyagi. She told me that my intonation had still some work to do and perhaps the speech could have also been modified a little more.

Video: https://youtu.be/nUUFvv3yCQ4

The judged returned to the room, and the contestants were all called up on stage. The first girl to receive a prize was the girl from the lowest class. She had been first to perform, but yet had done it quite well considering her Japanese level. Next called up was... me. I was really hoping to win the contest, but I knew in that moment I had been placed in second. I received my certificate and bookstore-money-card-prize and returned to my place in line. The first place winner ended up being the student from the 5th class, one level below me. I personally had liked his speech, but I did find it a little cheezy. But if the judges believed it to be better, it must be so.

After the whole thing, how do I feel? Well, I do believe that I improved. Just as I say in my speech, my experiences (mistakes) of the past have brought me to a higher level of understanding and potential. I may not have won the contest, but I ended up being second out of all the Bekka students. That's quite an achievement if you ask me. I even beat many of those from the higher class.