Event Report - 2002 June CIA Summer Seminar
Or How I Spent My Summer Vacation in Canada
This year's Canadian Iaido Association summer seminar was held at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver at the Student Recreation Centre gym, and featured Ezaka-sensei (10thdan Hanshi), Kaneda-sensei (7thdan Kyoshi), and Raju Thakrar (6thdan), who was translating for Kaneda (Scott Irey translated for Ezaka). I flew from Houston Hobby to Seattle via Albuquerque, then rented a car to get me the rest of the way. I stayed at the Pacific Spirit Hostel on campus, which was basically a set of dorms that the university lets out during the summer to visitors.
Leaving a day early in order to have an extra day to recover from the trip, and do a little sight seeing, I brought my Hiragana text book with me and spent the long time waiting in the terminal or sitting on the plane (when not gawking at snow covered mountains and other notable geographical features) learning more kana. I flew on Southwest Airlines which meant the stewardesses gave us just enough snacks on the long leg of the flight to keep the passengers from killing & eating them. So, by the time I got the luggage, got myself and the luggage to the car, and got the car on I-5 headed North I was famished. A stop at a restaurant helped to revive me just enough to wish I could lay down somewhere to take a nap, but bed awaited me in Vancouver so I drove on. The scenery was lovely as I headed for the border (mountains, clouds, sea, way tall trees...).
I didn't have any trouble with the sword either enroute or on campus. This year I borrowed an idea from Huff-sensei and placed my sword in a gun case and put that in a cardboard box to hide the case. This turned out to be the same box that the gun case came in, but I hid the prominent 'gun case' labels all over the box by covering them with decals and stickers collected from years of junk mail. So once again I managed to get in and out of the country with the sword without ever saying the 's' word.
It was a long trip, and I was up late the night before doing last minute packing, so even with naps on the plane by the time I got to my room I was seriously tired and went to bed right after I got the bed made.
The next morning I bounced out of bed, showered, and headed for the Student Union Building (SUB) for breakfast. The sky was clear, but the air was nippy (and so clean compared to Houston) with highs that day and the next two in the upper 50's or low 60's. After breakfast I went to the Student Rec. Centre and checked out the facilities as well as the gym where the seminars would be. Also noted the wooden floor of the dance studio where the Vancouver Iaido group have their weekly practices. I went back to the room, checking out a sweet little Japanese garden enroute, then headed for Wreck Beach which is just across the road from the campus hostel. I followed the steep trail down many steps that passed through a Northwest ravine carpeted with ferns shaded by towering trees. The beach was completely hidden by the trees until I got to the bottom. I didn't notice the 'clothing optional' sign at the head of the trail, but soon figured it out. After strolling about the sandy beach I settled on a log to watch the ferries, freighters, and smaller craft coursing the Straits of Georgia, as well as the birds, and nude sunbathers.
Across the water I could clearly see the mountains on Vancouver Island (their tops wreathed in clouds), while to my right were the mountains on the mainland. After the beach I visited the Nitobe Memorial Garden,-- a Shinto stroll garden created, in the words of the guide, "...to enshrine the spirit of Japanese scholar, educator, diplomat, and writer Dr. Inazo Nitobe...." The guide explained the symbolism of the various features of the garden,-- lanterns, water fall, pond & island, bridges, as they illustrated a journey through life. It's a lovely garden that also includes a tea house. After I left that garden I wondered through the gardens surrounding the nearby Asian Centre. I found opportunities in both places to practice Hiragana recognition. I was too tired and famished to want to try the Museum of Anthropology so went back to the SUB for lunch, then back to the room for a nap.
The UBC campus is large and visually stunning, especially since they are still in their spring with Azaleas and Wisteria still blooming (ours bloomed in March). Rising refreshed from the nap I walked to the other side of the campus to visit the UBC Botanical Gardens which turned out to be far larger than I imagined. I got there an hour and a half before they closed, and barely had time to see the Asian section. 'Garden' doesn't quite describe what it was like to follow the many twisty dirt paths that lead off the main paved trail deep into the grounds giving the wonderful illusion that one was deep in the wilds of BC, and not on a campus. It was more like a carefully crafted nature trail. After it closed I walked back to the room, grabbed my dojo bag & sword, and headed for the SUB for a slice of pizza, then iai practice in the dance studio. At 9 the Rec. centre closed so I walked back to the room feeling very tired and foot sore after all the walking here & there. BTW there it gets fully dark by 11 PM; then it's light again at 4:30 AM.
Friday morning I went to the spacious Museum of Anthropology on campus, via the Rose Garden, where I found lots of gifts (Raven items) for David in their gift store. After lugging it all back (and wondering how I would get the prints home), it was time to grab my stuff, and head to the gym for the first practice session of the seminar. It was at this time that I started running into other iai folks. In the Rec. Centre I ran into John Pritchard (Nelson, BC), Diane Mirro (San Antonio), and others whose faces I remembered from last year in Victoria if not their names. At the registration desk they had a surprise for the participants,-- detailed drawings and notes done by Ezaka-sensei, and a few articles by Raju Thakrar covering basics (Reishiki and Mae), the meanings of the wazas, Iaido terminology, Ritsurei, posture/position/footwork, sword grip, sageo handling, and folding the hakama. These alone were worth the price of admission. After some quick conversation the first session started. I had been hoping that Ezaka-sensei would be instructing the beginners this year, but as in Victoria last year he had the advanced group (sandan & higher, a small group of about 10-15), while Kaneda-sensei had the beginner to nidan group (over 50 students). This year's seminar had a total of 70 participants with 30 from the US, and 40 from Canada. I think the furthest traveled was Sheryl Galchutt of Washington, DC.
The first session (2 - 4 PM) covered Reishiki, and the following Batto Ho waza,-- Junto sono ichi, Junto sono ni, Tsuigekitou, and Zantotsutou. How it worked in this and all other sessions at this seminar was that Kaneda-sensei, working through Raju, would gather us around to demonstrate and point out the major points of the particular waza. After that he took questions from the students until there were none left. Then we were directed to go back to our positions to await his clap. Points covered in this session include aiming the tsukagashira at the opponent's shoulder on one-handed kesa giri, use of hara, etc. I did not film this first session, just participated. While I had brought knee pads it took a while for the tops of my feet to get used to sitting in seiza on a hard floor. There was a long dinner break between the first and second sessions during which I joined a group of folks from Victoria headed for a local Japanese restaurant just off campus. We had a good time visiting.
The second session (7 - 9 PM) reviewed what we covered in detail at the first session, i.e., Reishiki, and Batto Ho 1, 2, 3, and 7. Then we practiced the rest of the set, that is Shihotou sono ichi, Shihotou sono ni, and lastly Shatou. Points covered include proper metsuke, nukitsuke, left hand in center, use of hips, etc. Ezaka-sensei came over periodically in the course of the seminar to observe us and give advice. His message to us was to relax. I noted when I did so my cuts straightened out. Kaneda-sensei also exhorted us to go slow, check ourselves, and do big relaxed cuts. Then we did some foot work. This was completely new to me. He had everyone line up on one side of the gym, then on his mark we would all do ayumiashi (short alternating steps keeping the feet close to the floor) as fast as we could to the other side. Then we did it going backwards. Next we did the same thing but with tsugiashi (right foot forward) forward and backward. Then he had us do this footwork drill based on Shatou. Picking a point on the floor directly ahead step to the right side then bring the left foot back in han mi as in Shatou while executing a cutting motion with the right arm toward the spot on the floor. Then step to the left, bring the right foot back in han mi, and cut with the right hand (similar to what you just did on the right side). And so on back and forth from one side to the other. We were just getting into Seiza techniques when it was time to quit. After lugging our stuff back to the hostel, several of us rode with John P. to Dentry's Irish Grill for the Friday night social. I got to know Roland, John's student who was testing for Shodan on Sunday, and Daryl Louie (Vancouver), whom I corresponded with prior to the event. Raju and Kaneda were also there. It was a fun gathering and we got back a little late. As the seminar went along I noted that we kept going to bed later and later while the seminar sessions kept starting earlier and earlier.
Saturday morning the only place that was open for breakfast in the SUB was Blue Chip Cookies. John P. and I grabbed some muffins & cookies and quietly joined Andrei-sensei's large group gathered in the student lounge discussing and comparing notes on the material covered yesterday. We stole away after a while to the gym to get ready.
The Saturday morning session (10 - noon) covered the proper way to sit in seiza (knees one fist width apart), how to go in to seiza, as well as these waza: Mae, Migi, Ushiro, Hidari, and Yaegaki. Some notes: at end of ochiburi knees should be one fist width apart; left hand just below belly button at end of cut; kissaki roughly behind the elbow, and middle & ring fingers touching temple before fingers close in ochiburi. For lunch a group of us headed for The Pendulum in the SUB nearby for a pleasant lunch on the outside porch.
The Saturday afternoon session (2 - 4 PM) started with foot work drills back and forth from one side of the gym to the other. Ayumiashi and Tsugiashi were done forward and backward. After the warm up, we reviewed the seiza waza we did in the morning, then started in on Ukenagashi, Kaishaku, Tsukekomi, Tsukikage, Oikaze, and Nukiuchi. Some notes: on Kaishaku unsheathe to monouchi before rising; on flip chiburi left hand at ~ nipple height, and kissaki moves on a lower plane during the movement; on Tsukekomi chiburi the right hand stops in front of the right shoulder; can do Nukiuchi either with knee rise or knees straight apart. Afterwards we agreed to meet back at the hostel at a certain time and head out to the Saturday social at Denny Hewgill's beach house in Tsawassen. Since John P. was tired of driving senseis around all day I agreed to drive everyone in the rental car. BTW I didn't luck out with the rental car like last year (last year I reserved for an economy car and got an Outback), I got a cheap little Suzuki four-banger that had seen better days. I remember thinking 'Just get me to Vancouver and back, that's all I ask.' as I headed North from the airport.
John P. and Roland came knocking on my door, and we all went down stairs, piled into my car, and headed to The Gage Residences to pick Sheryl up. John had lived in Vancouver before so he was the designated navigator. Fortunately I noticed the gas was getting low and so stopped for more (I hate to think how late we would have gotten back if I hadn't done this). To save time John directed me along short cuts through the city. I think we only got lost once. We finally found the beach house and went inside. It was a fun gathering with much visiting and swapping of stories. Andrei made a lot of presentations of gifts to the visiting sensei. Amazingly (I thought) there were people who wanted to buy the Clear Lake Iaido shirts from me. I didn't bring any to sell, but exchanged e-mail addresses to arrange payment and mailing later. Well, the drive back proved much more interesting. At some point in the drive John got distracted by the conversation from the backseat, or maybe it was me, I don't know, but he looked up and didn't know where we were. I, of course, had no idea where I was or where I was going. We were lost and got loster. We eventually found ourselves way South of Vancouver headed for Seattle. At one point we pulled into a gas station to get directions, which we followed to the letter only to find ourselves heading out into the boonies again. Strangely enough, when we turned around to head back for the bridge, then the directions worked(!). Funny thing was I've never had so much fun getting lost. We talked and joked the whole way. By the we got back to the campus though, about midnight, we were tired.
The Sunday morning session (9:30 - noon) reviewed Batto Ho, and Seiza before covering Maegiri, and Zengogiri. Some notes: on the Toho waza the kiai begins when the monouchi enters the opponent. I had lunch with Andrew Tsubaki (Kansas) and his wife on The Pendulum's outside porch. FYI he's the head instructor of the Kankoukan Dojo (Kansas Ki Society). We talked about Iaido, Aikido, etc., and were entertained by a pair of Northwestern Crows that were "cleaning up" the leftovers at a nearby table.
I filmed the Sunday afternoon Dan Exams, as well as the presentation of certificates. There were 27 testing, and all were awarded rank. Due to the numbers they were tested in groups of 3-5. I noted that instead of reciting a number they gave their names, and then the name of their school (MJER). Afterwards it was announced that there would be a social at a nearby restaurant just off campus. John and I agreed to go in his car.
After toting my stuff back to the room I started trying to figure out how I was going to get the prints I got at the museum, and all the other stuff into my suitcase such that they would survive the trip. John & Roland came by after a while and off we went to pick up Sheryl before heading to the eatery. We had a nice time visiting with each other one last time, and Roland solved the problem of the prints,-- use cardboard I had on hand to construct a three-sided 'tube', which I did when we got back. I was up late that night cramming everything back into the luggage I brought. The next morning I left as quick as I could so as to have time to get through the border, drop the car off, go through airport security, and catch a 1:45 flight to Hobby. At the front desk I asked for the quickest way to get to Hwy 99. I was given a map in Japanese (no joke) with the route inked in, and away I went. Well I took a wrong turn and found myself passing under and away from 99. Turned around and managed to get on (signs tend to be haphazard here). Heading South I saw a mileage sign for Seattle that had "250" on it that made my heart sink, but then I realized I was in Canada and that was 250 kilometers, not miles. Made good time to the border, but got pulled over when I told then how much I spent on the stuff I was bringing back from Canada. So customs looked at my receipts from the museum gift shop and I guess concluded these were indeed all gifts. So away I went and eventually ended up back home.
Photos