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At Home Again
By
Alaron Lewis
Brandeis University
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This summer
while visiting my parents, I had the
opportunity to visit two Kokondo dojos in
Seattle Washington. I found that
friendliness and hospitality extend from
coast to coast in the Kokondo community.
At both of the dojos I visited, everyone
was extremely friendly and greeted me
warmly. In particular, the two Sensei's,
Mr. Soltez and Mr. Peterson went out of
their way to help me feel comfortable
working out in their dojos. |
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Both of the
workouts were similar to those I have
participated in at Brandeis, but there
were some small difference which
occasionally left me a little bewildered.
Pronunciation was probably the major
difference I noted between the East and
West coast. In the two dojos I visited,
the Japanese was pronounced much faster
then I was used to, and sometimes
different syllables were accented.
Usually I found that if I slowed things
down a little, I knew what was being
said., but often I started kata before I
was certain which one I was supposed to
be doing. The pronunciation of kata names
may have thrown me for a loop, but the
kata themselves were comfortingly
familiar. |
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When I visited
Mr. Soltez' dojo, I found the size of the
class somewhat overwhelming. The number
of green belts in the class equaled the
total number of people I was used to
having participate in a class, and there
were an equally large number of brown,
and yellow belts. However, as I grew used
to having so many people around me, I
began finding it exhilarating. I had
never truly felt the sound of a
retraction until the entire lot of us did
kata together, and it was an excellent
chance to meet a great many new people. I
am sorry I can not personally thank all
of the people who introduced themselves
that evening, but the list was very long
and I would hate to leave anyone out.
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Despite the
advantages of a large class I found
myself feeling more at home in the second
smaller class when I visited Mr.
Peterson's dojo. One new thing I learned
in Mr. Peterson's class was the concept
of a kata series. From the bow of one
kata we would go directly into the next
one. I found this method of doing kata
interesting, but somewhat exhausting. The
Pinan ladder which the fellow green belt
and I went through was particularly
challenging, and since been incorporated
into my Pinan practices.
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I am very
grateful to Mr. Peterson and Mr. Soltez
for welcoming me into their dojos and
allowing me to experience some of the
different methods and settings of
Kokondo. I would also like to thank all
the members of their respective dojos and
Mr. Peterson and Mr. Soltez for making me
feel so at home.
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