Rain…

what a surprise!!!

Going out soon for the man semifinals and finals of beach volley in Stavanger, and the weather is really crappy, opposite from yesterday…

Ohi ohi ohi.. not happy!!!

It will be a wet day..

First days of Swatch FIVB Stavanger 2008

Finally beach volley came back to Norway, and as expected, the weather sucks!! It has been an alternating of rain, wind, and a few hours of sun.. few but enough to burn my newly uncovered top head!!

Like last year, I dedicate a summary post for these first days of the competition in Stavanger. But this year, after the qualification day, I will not have much time to follow the games, until the weekend of the finals. This year I will assist to both final days, hoping in an ok weather..

This year after the qualification day, all my favorite girls are out of the competition! As a matter of fact, all Japanese women are out!

The first match of my first “love”, Miwa Asao, 浅尾美和, and Take Nishibori, 西堀健実, was impossible: they have been unlucky enough to face the top ranked Japanese team, Mika Teru Saiki, 佐伯美香 – Chiaki Kusuhara, 楠原千秋. And in fact the match ended with a quite fast 2-0 for the more experienced team. Same fate for the 4th Japanese team, the only one I know very little of, Urata Satoko, 浦田聖子 – Suzuki Hiromi, 鈴木洋美, that was fast defeated by the Latvian duo Minusa-Jursone.

My second “love” had a more successful first match against the Spanish team Campisi-Lozano. And it was quite convincing, both in the attacking side and in the defensive one. A very nice collection of pictures are available from InDo blog, but he is quite lucky to get a photographer pass and a great professional camera!

But as said, none of the Japanese could reach Main Draw Round Robin phase: Chiaki & Mika were defeated by the same Latvian pair Minusa-Jursone, while a French defeat was on the road of Shinako & Kae, by the hand of Faure-Sarpaux.

Unfortunately, both these 2 teams, Latvian and French, could not “survive” the Round Robin phase, ending with a good rank at 25th position. Being Stavanger a Grand Slam tournament, the assigned points are double than for a normal Open tournament, so a good result here was very important with respect to Olympics qualification! Both Latvian and French teams are in fact fighting for the last spots to the Olympics, and Japanese Chiaki & Mika are among those last qualifying teams. July 20th is the end of qualification to Beijing and there are still 2 tournaments valid for gaining important points. Since I got Olympics tickets for beach volley I really hope to have a chance to see the Japanese team there!!

A Japanese guy made a YouTube collage from my last year pictures of Miwa, unfortunately, he “forgot” to credit me.. so this video might not stay on very long if he does not correct his mistake! But people that know me can see very clearly, and besides some of them where published under my name in Japan!!

Jolin Tsai, 蔡依林

When we talk about music, my taste is usually toward rock, metal, hard rock and these kind of genre.. but from time to time, something completely different get caught in my head.. and stays there..

It happened with this Chinese singer, Jolin Tsai, 蔡依林 (pinyin: cai yi lin), not so known out of China, where is famous for singing and dancing, like a few other pop American ones that I am not able to recognize, even knowing their names. Basically not the kind of music I listen to, but Han Xu does.. and one Jolin’s song was just magic for me!!

The title is 倒带 (dao dai) and many thanks to WeiFanggg for posting a video with English translation and pinyin subtitles!!

..but because of funny copyright/region stuff, click here to see the video!!

And thanks to this post for the solution via Google translate

Thanks to YouTube, I could also update with a video a previous post about another Chinese band that I love, Sound Toy, 声音与玩具.

Summer time..

summer time..,
by Andy – アンドレア.

Summer, at least on my head!

Waited the important match with France, and then committed myself to the yearly cut

Actually, I waited a few days more, because the weather really sucks over here and I was hoping in some more sun, warmth, etc. but no way..

So cold!!!

Iaido!

Yesterday, “thanks” to Aikido people that from June, becaue of summer holidays mainly skip practice quite often, Bob and me focus again on Iaido, 居合道!!! OH MY.. I missed that so much!!!

I notice now that I have talked here, in the blog, very little about Iaido even if it represents a quite important part of my past. Some time ago, seeing that the effective time I could use for practice was limited, I had taken the decision to focus mainly on Aikido. The time has not increased but I might reconsider a bit that decision now. Having less chances to travel and practice with the senseis I like and feeling also not much improvement in my practice, I can start again something that was really helping my mind!

My Iaido background is in the Muso Shinden Ryū, 夢想神伝流, koryu school. “Koryu“, 古流, refers to the ancient styles, and I had practiced Omory-ryū, Hasegawa Eishin-ryū and a few kata from two other schools not included in Muso Shinden-ryū: Keshi-ryū and Toyama-ryū, 戸山流. At a later time I practiced also a little of Seitei Iaido, 制定 居合道. Some places included all these schools under Muso Shinden! And that was the idea also of my first instructor (and he was actually from Canada!)

In the present years, I broke the connection with my first instructor, for reasons based on the basic evilness of human nature: how a person can fake his own identity just to get personal advantage of other people.. It was a good fucking lesson! Painful, but instructive! And I realized that the Iaido forms I learnt from him in 5 years were a bit.. personal! The way to perform the cuts was a bit different from how they do *now* in most places: i had an interesting email exchange with Tiki Shewan sensei and he told me that these forms were taught mostly 20-30 years ago.

So I decided to explore a bit the Iaido world around me, not having anymore any bound with any teacher. And I had a great chance to meet to exceptional sensei: Takada Gakudo and Renè Van Amersfoort. But I will have to write special post about each of them!!

So, yesterday we had a short session going through all the katas in Seitei Iai and it has awakened the love I had for Iaido practice. Therefore I have started thinking to join practice at Mandal summer school where Rene is teaching!

UNRELATED COMMENT
“Thanks” to the second lines of Holland football team, that probably wanted to show they could also played football (yeah, since the trainer change 9 eleventh of the team for the last match.. so much for taking the match seriously!), and thanks to a “wonderful” victory against France (one penalty and one self score), Italy goes to the quarter finals of European of football.. The team still played as.. as.. as.. I don’t want to say.. and all the Italian journalists seem to have watched a different match respect to the one seen by me and my friends, except one of my favorite, Marco Ansaldo .. Anyway, jippppppppppppyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!! Au revoir France

Endo sensei in Cologne!

[Pictures coming soon!!]

Last weekend, Friday and Saturday, I was in Cologne for a seminar with Endo sensei: Too long since last time!!! And I really felt that my body, my condition and my technique are suffering this lack of proper training. But it was a very good practice with several high graded and extremely good aikidokas. And especially it is always nice to meet again Aikido-friends, especially like Svein, from different dojos around Europe!

I had promised myself to visit Jörg and his great dojo Kishintai Forum Aikido, for this occasion: this seminar was in fact mainly organized by Jörg together with German Aikikai federation. And I must say it was a success! Even with a little crisis at the beginning of the weekend seminar, on Friday, when it arrived the big truck with 800 sqm of tatami mats. Unfortunately it took a bit of time to find a way to unload the truck but Aikido people (especially outside Oslo ) are extremely good at carrying mats! And always ready to help!

Anyway, when all the mats have been arranged in the hockey hall of the sport university in Cologne, the dojo looked wonderful! And there was definitively enough space for all the people to practice without stepping on each other feet.. different from Endo sensei seminar in Paris, just as reference!!

I must say that I was extremely happy to see that sensei did practice with only one ankle bandage, not with both wrists and ankles wrapped up in bands like last 2 seminars in Sweden and Finland. also the friends that were at the yudansha week said that sensei was in a very good condition, practicing a lot around the dojo with different people. These are good news!! It was sad to see him injured and suffering earlier.

Unfortunately I cannot say I was lucky enough to practice with him.. The feelings about this are always the same.. At his eyes I am not worth to practice with, probably too old to learn anything. A pity since last year I physically felt improvements in my technique. Also many things that he repeats all the time, I have the feelings I am doing them, maybe not correctly or as effective as other younger friends with a better technique.. But I felt things clicking into my Aikido. In the same way I felt that now my condition is terrible! And not only because my increase in body weight.. especially because I feel I am loosing some automatism.

With only 2 days of seminar (I came back early on Sunday in order to spend some time with my girlfriend.. who left Monday to China!), I tried and managed to practice with most of the people I wanted. At least I got a lot of feelings about how the technique should be. This is the starting point for keep on working here in Stavanger.

Another success in the organization of the seminar was the bbq party evening, at Jörg’s dojo, with a delicious buffet and really interesting music played by really gifted artist. A special mention goes to the German sausages: ohhhhhhh… god!! I’m going to miss them too!!!!

Last but not least, I want to thank you Andreas from Sweden-Germany (like I am from Norway-Italy ) for both the nice practice and for reading often my blog!! He is one of the few extra Norwegians that do that and make me very happy!!! [yes, tonight I will post his picture!!]

我会想你的，我的宝贝！

[wo hui xiang ni de, wode bao bei] I will miss you, baby!!!

Tonight 韩旭 left for Beijing, traveling back to her home place in order to start her summer holidays.. and I will not see her until the 2nd of August.. sooooooo long!!!!!!!!

But she deserves these long holidays in order to recharge her batteries after many exams here in Norway. And especially she is extra happy to meet again her family and her familiar environment.. hoping she will also miss me a bit!!!

So, bye bye baby, see you soon!!!!