Last judo practice at Tokai

Yesterday was my last judo practice at Tokai. Today I had my graduation ceremony from the Bekka Japanese Language and tomorrow I'm leaving for Hokkaido so I decided to make the 19th my last practice before I go back to Canada.

At the beginning of practice, I was asked to stand in front of everyone as I received a judo gui, a towel from Tokai, a beautiful album (with messages written by all the girls in it) and a graduation teddy bear. I felt touched that they went to so much trouble to do all that for me. The girls all told me that they will never forget me. A lot of foreigners come to practice at Tokai but they'll usually stay for a few days, a week, or sometimes a month. But I practiced with them for a year. And I also learned Japanese so I was able to communicate with them more and more as the year advanced. Communication was probably the biggest factor in the equation. If you can't communicate, it's hard to get closer to someone. I also went to cheer on the girls at competitions and took part in training camps, which most of the foreigners don't do. So that set me apart as well.

I'm really glad I joined the judo club at Tokai. All the girls are great and have helped me a lot over the year, cheering me on and teaching me a few things here and there. But there were also difficults moments as well. When I first came, I didn't understand much and the girls didn't know me yet, so they didn't really talk to me. I got thrown a lot in the few weeks... and the teachers didn't seem to really pay attention to me or show the intention of teaching me anything. Even just differentiating one girl from another was difficult. But, as the months passed, slowly, the girls started to engage in conversations with me and the coaches started to teach me, correcting a few mistakes in my techniques. Looking back, I think the first few weeks were kind of like a test to see if I was tough enough, to see if I could handle it. I guess I passed the test ;)

A big turning point was when Shirase Sensei told me to sit along with the Tokai girls (when we bow at the beginning and end of practice), instead of where the foreigners and athletes from other universities sit when they come to practice. They recognized at that moment that I was different from other foreigners and my status went to being an "outsider" to an "insider".

Thanks to the judo club, I was able to have many experiences I normally wouldn't have had the chance to have. For example, many athletes from other countries came to train at Tokai. I got the chance to train not only with the girls from Tokai, but also athletes from all over the world, some of them who went on to compete at the Olympics in London. I got the chance to watch many judo competitions in Japan, including the Tokyo Grand Slam. I was also able to see a lot of Japan, including Tsumagoi (Gunma Prefecture), Miyazaki (on Kyushu Island), and Amagasaki (between Osaka and Kobe).

The gui I received has "Tokai" written in kanji next to the collar and my name "Sayuri" at the bottom. Normally, only people from Tokai get to wear a gui with the kanjis for "Tokai" on it so I'm honored to have received one. It's a bit big so I'll have to shrink it a bit in the dryer.

Then, after receiving the gui and all the presents, I also gave the judo club a little something I made.

 

It's an album I created, filled with pictures taken during my year in Japan. On the covers, I drew all the girls, teachers and trainers, chibi style. It was actually a lot of fun making it but it did take quite a long time to draw all 40 faces. After I'd finished it, I almost wanted to take it home with me because of all the time I spent on it. lol

I also took a lot of pictures that day so I'll post a few here. Enjoy!

Group photo with everyone!

From left: Mikiko, (me), Narumi

From left: Tomomi (Motoyoshi), (me), Tomomi (Ayabe), Miki, Miyu, Kimiko

Yutaka and me

With trainer Izumi

Too many people...

With Ami

With Kiyomi