Trotting

Translating for Sensei is easier than I anticipated. I really haven't forgotten all that much Japanese in one year. The vocab I didn't know is the same vocab I struggled with when I lived in Japan. The gaps are the same; some ideas and concepts are just freakin hard to wrap your head around when it comes to Japanese.

I want Sensei's classes to be interesting, fun and challenging. It's occurring to me as I translate, though, that just because I played a part in his being here doesn't mean I identify with the guy fully. Some things he says are really cool and I like to say them in front of the group. Other things he says I try not to skew too much, but they are kind of repetitive or forcing the point. He speaks for himself during those times, so to speak. I just brought him here (with some help!). He's got to show that he's got the quality that will bring him back year after year.

I guess because he's very high-ranking, it must be hard for him to find someone to work with who provides him a challenge. In that way, he seems a little stiff/stuck on himself to me. I mean like another Sensei I know, he works a 'magic' that is almost too quick to see with the naked eye. This is not as interesting to me as something I can directly copy and learn. A magician doesn't give away his or her tricks; I personally think a martial artist should though.

On a personal note, the relationship that is developing between myself and my boss/teacher/friend is most interesting. I feel him in a way that is more instant and deeper than many people I've known. I wondered why I was drawn to take such a long break from Aikido last year (9 months off). Was it so that this wonderful encounter with this teacher, this place, this experience might occur? Absolutely, without a doubt it was.