Fun with TypeDrawing

Aimee had some fun with a new app that I loaded onto the iPhone

Another Activity - Swim Team

To add to the other sports that Aimee participates in (Aikido, archery, Kendo and rock climbing) she is now on the local Parks and Recreation swim team. After her first practice she declared that it is the hardest workout among the sports that she already participates in.

Random Photos - Downtown Gilbert, AZ

I love Joe's BBQ, that have such fantastic food there. If you are ever in the neighborhood, eat at Joe's.

A First Time for Everything

Today was my first day in bogu. Needless to say, it was pretty rough. I’ve come to the conclusion that Kendo is like sword fighting in a spacesuit. I was able to wear the tare (waist and hip protector) and the do (the chest protector) last Thursday’s practice. Today I was able to put on the whole enchalada. I added the kote (the glove-like hand and wrist protector) and the men (head and face protection, sort of).

Swinging the shinai (the bamboo sword) is completely different. The initial position that you start out in and transition to in the swing feel completely different. Even how you grip the shinai is somewhat challenging in the cumbersome kote.
While the bogu is made to protect, it does not completely isolate the wearers completely from the strikes. There is some pain involved. I took a couple of shots to the top of the head that have left a sore spot from today’s practice. While practicing strikes to the wrist or kote I was feeling a sort of an electrical jolt fly up my arm each time after I was struck. I then realized that I had the extra pad for protecting the wrist that is worn under the kote was on the wrong arm.

Seeing, hearing and breathing are greatly restricted while wearing the headpiece or men. The men is also somewhat heavy so on occasion you find your head bobbing around from the weight of the metal mask in the front.
I know that even though I had been exposed to Kendo throughout my life and had understood many of the basics and principles I now know that I know nothing at all. I know that despite the fact that I have spent the past 10 months to get to this point of getting beyond the basics of strikes, swinging, control and foot work that I am again starting all over again...from day one.

A Visit to Lee Lee's Asian Supermarket

Once you walk in, it becomes very clear that you are not in your average supermarket.
It is not what you expect from your average visit to Ralph's or the Piggly Wiggly. One step in to Lee Lee's Asian supermarket and you can see that you are in a different world.



Unfortunately you won't find Wonder bread or Skippy peanut butter, buy you will find at least find 20 different types of rice, 15 different types of choi (more than just the Bok type) and more tea...well, almost more types that can be found in China. While many supermarkets dedicate one or two portions of an aisle to international foods, Lee Lee's contains nothing but selections from all around the world.



While western markets appear very sterile and very removed from where food comes from making a some what surreal experience, this market makes it very clear where animal protein comes from. In the fish department you get to pull your choice live from the tank. Ducks are roasted with the head on.



Just walking through the aisles alone can be overwhelming. I had heard of Vietnamese fish sauce, the infamous nuac mam, but in one row alone I counted 37 different types of it.

Try that instead of peanut butter.

Mr. Pig Gets a Hat

So Shines a Good Deed Upon a Weary World

Aimee decided to go for her Bronze Award with the Girl Scouts this year. For her project she decided collect food donations for the Chandler Food Bank for the homeless. To get the award she was required to come up with an idea and to work 17 hours of community service. She organized her idea, wrote letters and created a flier and went door to door to 108 houses in the community. My initial thought that we’d get 5 donations from neighbors that we knew. I turned out to be way wrong.



We got donations from about 60 houses and filled the back of the Honda Pilot with bags and bags of food.

I estimate that we got about 300 pounds of food in one day. An amazing feat by an 11 year-old.

It was great to see the outpouring of support from our neighbors. It was great to hear from them in the notes that they left Aimee saying what a great thing she was doing. It was amazing to see that my daughter has managed to make a small, positive impact on the world.

That’s “Fu-Ro-Re-Tzu” to You

One of the things that one is required to do in Kendo is to get an identifying panel that is attached to the middle of the waist protector or “tare” on the armor section of the Bogu.
The Zekken is like a nametag of sorts in that it identifies the practitionier seeing as they are not easily identifiable once the headpiece or “men” is worn.
The Zekken usually lists the school or dojo that the person is from, their last name in English and in Japanese. Seeing as many westerners are practicing kendo they must have their names translated into a pronouncable form of Japanese. In Katakana each character represents a consonant and a vowel. Using this type of format just about any word or name can be utilized by Japanese speakers so that it could be more easily used.
Some examples of this are:
Hot Dog = ho tu do gu
California = ca ri fo ni an nu
Ice Cream = Aei su ku re mu
Maruice White (the lead singer of Earth Wind and Fire) = Morisu Howaito
In our case, since we have the infamous “L” in our name and with no “L” in the Japanese language we had to have our names spelled out the long way ‘round.
Four characters, Fu, Ro, Re & Tzu

Pocket Dump

“What’s in your pockets?”

Capturing An Essence

I saw this commercial and had to laugh out loud. It was a combination of the characters of Charleton Heston and the legend of Chuck Norris in a Latin format to create this new spokesperson for Dos Exquis. I too shall drink the elixir of the two X’s and perhaps become more interesting.

Aimee Gets Armor

It was a pretty big deal for her, but on Sunday our instructors brought over a set of bogu for Aimee to borrow. It was like Christmas day for her. It was a wonderful sight.