First Kudo USA Winter Camp, Among Other Things
I returned to the lower 48 to, among other things, get my base-house back in order. I was property managing a bi-level duplex, and as long as I had one half rented and square, I got the other as payment. It was an almost perfect arrangement that resulted in me having a base to store things in for 6 months or more at a time while I gallivanted around the world without needing to pay rent or storage fees. I say “almost perfect” because occasionally things didn’t always go well; Things like crappy renters, which turned out to be the majority of renters. I had returned because the most recent batch of renters had damaged the place, left a significant amount of garbage on their leave, and tried to skip out on their final month’s rent. That’s to say nothing of the natural events like floods that had taken their toll on the place. All of this was my responsibility. It would take a full-time effort to get it ready to be rented again, but it’s what I signed up for and “luckily” I had enough money from fishing in Alaska to tied me over until the house was good to go.
I had figured the house would take a month or two to fix up, but it turned out to be more. My tolerance and finances were running thin. It was around this time that I received a message from the Kudo group I train with in the states. The head of Kudo in Colorado was hosting the first USA Kudo winter training camp in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Just what I needed to unwind! I only found out about a week before the event, but I was able to take off as I saw fit, so no worries. The camp was to be a week of training in the mountains at high altitude. I couldn’t wait to get going so I grabbed my bag and went. Of course my flight was delayed an hour and a half from boarding, and then my connecting flight was delayed by another hour and a half, and then again by another half hour because someone’s seat just BROKE OFF THE PLANE! After all the delays I was going to be very late arriving at Colorado Springs, so I needed to warn my airport pickup… but didn’t have a phone or his contact info… I noticed the guy next to me on the plane was watching a UFC fight on his phone, so I thought this could be my opportunity. We chatted for a bit, and then after breaking the ice I explained my situation and asked if he could text my ride. “Sure, no problem. What’s the number?” … I don’t know. “What?” My ride is the Colorado Springs Kudo dojo owner, organizer of the camp, and friend named J.D. Maybe google his dojo’s website? The guy found” A” website, but we didn’t know if it was “THE” website. The number wasn’t even for the right state! It did turn out to be his number though, and he just hadn’t updated his contact information in a while. After contacting him, JD said it was no problem. But since I was coming hours late, he would be busy as the liaison for the two Japanese instructors, so he was sending his wife to pick me up. What service! The guy who used his phone for me turned out to be a former high school and college wrestler, and since the training camp was open to everyone I tossed him an invite. He seemed keen, but he wasn’t sure he’d be able to get the time off work. He was a weed runner for some marijuana farm in Colorado, and it seems he couldn’t get away, because he never made it to the camp.
After JD’s wife picked me up in Colorado Springs, we drove straight to a camp welcoming dinner where a lot of people had already gathered for food, drinks, and to acclimate. It was delicious. At the dinner was Komatsu Sensei, one of the instructors for the camp. He was actually at the First USA Kudo tournament, which I fought in and received a deep cut over one of my eyebrows that ended my fight. I didn’t think he would remember me, but the second he saw me he said “Hey! How’s the souvenir?” Pointing to my eyebrow. He remembered me! We actually got along really well at the camp, and talked frequently. That night, and all subsequent nights, I and another student from Ohio slept in the dojo, because it was free, but also very comfortable. Or at least I thought so. My roommate nearly froze to death! I guess he wasn’t used to the mountains at night … he had on so many layers! He was wearing all his clothes, plus his training uniform, some jackets, and then he covered himself in kicking shields. In his defense, we didn’t have the heat turned on…
On the second day the camp started properly, but before the training began we went out to breakfast, then to the cave of the winds for some adventure, then headed out to Manitou Springs to drink from their 8 famous “magic” restorative natural springs. The water is delicious and naturally carbonated! I’m certainly not turning down naturally magic water to boost my skills; questing for magic water is right up my alley. In the late afternoon we commenced our training. The camp was officially held at the Colorado Springs Budokan, and was organized by J.D. Alexander Sensei-Colorado Branch Chief, and the two fantastic chief instructors of the camp were Komatsu Sensei – Akita Japan Branch Chief, and Ito Sensei – L.A. Branch Chief. The turnout was pretty good, including trainees from L.A., Texas, Ohio, Colorado, Japan, and myself among others. One of the students from L.A., a successful real estate company owner, was Japanese and interpreted for the instructors since they either didn’t like to, or couldn’t speak English. He left early to corner one of his students at the Sabaki Challenge and so the duty of interpreter fell to me. Our first training was an in-depth review of Kudo basic technique, followed by boxing drills. After training the group gathered at a sports bar to have dinner and watch Kato Sensei of Kudo fight in Belletor on Television. I thought Kato looked familiar, and it turned out I had actually trained with Kato Sensei during the First USA Kudo seminar years prior.
The next day we started bright and early for over 8 total hours of very intense training. The training was made all the more difficult by the fact that the Dojo is at a high elevation, significantly higher than Denver, and most of us were not used to the change at all. Our 8 hours of training were broken down into conditioning and basics, followed by intense combination work lead by Komatsu Sensei, and the second half of the day consisted of throwing and grappling techniques of all manner led by Ito Sensei. That evening we held a traditional dojo style drinking and social party, enkai, to better get to know everyone. Of course I was coaxed in to doing drunken one finger handstand pushups for the teachers. It was during this enkai that I learned Ito sensei works as a programming director for Fuji Television, the largest TV network in Japan, and also develops programs for US television. He became fascinated with me and said “I think I could make a reality TV show out of you. … Do you want a TV show?” Do I!? “I have no idea what it would be about, but you’re crazy so people would watch it.” He took out his phone to record and gave me a 15 minute interview, including the drunken one finger handstand pushups, things I’ve done, and things I’m planning to do, in order to show his production team. He told me these things take years to develop sometimes, and nothing may come of it. I’m sure nothing will probably come of it, but it’s nice to know there’s a chance. Also at the enkai I got to talking to one of the students whose wife turned out to be from Kodiak Island, Alaska, which I had just come from! She had a friend who ran a fishing boat and was going to get me on her boat because she thought our personalities would mesh perfectly. It would have been serendipitous if not for the fact that a couple months after that the fishing in Kodiak became so bad a state of emergency was declared and aid was brought in for the families who rely on fishing. I have the devil’s luck.
After the party we all went to bed, because the next day consisted of testing. Those testing for rank, and those wishing to participate were put through an intense examination that was filmed, along with the rest of camp, to send back to Azuma Jukuchou(headmaster) for review. The exam was 3 hours of intense review, followed by fighting. Bret, from L.A. dojo, was testing for his black belt and so had to do a 10 man fight. I was 2 of his fights: Standup fighting only, which I won, and grappling only, which we tied. He did fantastic, and was awarded his belt. After the exams the instructors kept telling me they couldn’t have done it without me, helping with the test and interpreting. If they needed me so bad, they should have let me know about the camp more than a week in advance and mentioned something about me being crucial… what if I couldn’t have made it!? As a gratitude to me though, I got all my meals and training paid for. Radical! To close the camp, those of us who had the time headed up into the mountains to visit the lovely Mount Princeton hot springs to soak our beaten bodies and relax our minds. The perfect end to a perfect camp. The first USA winter Kudo training camp was a success! The final night after everyone else had left I crashed at JD’s with his giant slobbery dogs, which I love, and he took me to the airport.
Now that I was back in the Midwest I needed to finish work on the house, get new renters in, and then jet off. Finishing the house took longer than I wanted but at least I could train while I was working on it, and even reached a new peak! However, getting renters who weren’t very clearly terrible investments was a nightmare. So many people with no jobs or money, and multiple felony convictions! Not that those things by default eliminate someone from being decent, but they weren’t even TRYING to make a good impression. Finally, after what seemed ages, I rented the place to a guy who owned an asphalt company. He was using it as a base for some of his employees and some trucks. Perfect. Of course, by the time I had rented the house, I had used most of my money sustaining myself! So, now I had to find a job. I figured I could just fall back to being a full time substitute high school teacher at the school I taught at a couple years prior. It should have been an easy gig. Should have been.
The school had gone downhill BIG TIME in the past couple of years. During the orientation meeting the lady running it kept stressing that we could NOT touch the students. “No hitting the students.” Then she would stare at me. “No sexual relations with the students.” Then she would stare at me. “Repeat: No touching of the students!” Again, I got a steely stare. There were other people at the meeting! Did she think all I did was hit things and bang them? … Can’t blame her for covering her bases. I had imagined a steady decline over time, but this school had suffered a straight plummeting drop in standards. The school had become full-on “inner-city” in the worst of that phrase’s connotations. I saw reflected in that school the downfall of society at large. It was like being the janitor on a boat that has caught fire and already half sunk, but you’re told to keep cleaning anyway. Sure, it wasn’t all bad: The high school girls were still all over me. Once, when teaching a class I asked if there were any questions; a group of girls raised their hands and said “will you take your shirt off?” My response: Not on the clock. I didn’t realize that would come back to get me though, because a couple of the high school girls lived in my neighborhood, which I found out when I went jogging. Without a shirt. I needed to be extra careful I didn’t get arrested because of an enthusiastic underage student! Besides the ego boost though, there were no perks to working there. The hours were terrible; I would have to wake up at 4:30 or 5 in the morning to get ready and make it on time. The atmosphere was terrible; students got arrested, IN SCHOOL, on a regular basis, and I even had some kids try to beat each other to death using desks! Also, the money was terrible; 9$ per hour to feel like I was trapped in a scene from “Escape From New York”. No thanks! The whole situation caused me some existential contemplation. It would seem that the educational system in general, and this one in particular were failures. If the students are the products of the schools, then is the product of a failed system by default a failure? Most of them were weak, soft, and non-adaptive, and had very little of the knowledge one would expect of people their age in a first world country. Would they be better off not even being in school? . There were too many people crammed into a failed institutional space; it was an odd sort of 3rd world type education in a supposed first world country. This was to be the breeding ground for the future! What could be done to fix this mess? I could see no revisions working, short of razing the entire system and building a new one.
The job was a bit depressing, but I got the money I needed. I worked for one semester, and then swore I would never go back. I had earned enough to take off for some training and clear my weighted mind. A couple of weeks before the school took off for summer vacation, I took off for Japan.
-Nash
I had figured the house would take a month or two to fix up, but it turned out to be more. My tolerance and finances were running thin. It was around this time that I received a message from the Kudo group I train with in the states. The head of Kudo in Colorado was hosting the first USA Kudo winter training camp in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Just what I needed to unwind! I only found out about a week before the event, but I was able to take off as I saw fit, so no worries. The camp was to be a week of training in the mountains at high altitude. I couldn’t wait to get going so I grabbed my bag and went. Of course my flight was delayed an hour and a half from boarding, and then my connecting flight was delayed by another hour and a half, and then again by another half hour because someone’s seat just BROKE OFF THE PLANE! After all the delays I was going to be very late arriving at Colorado Springs, so I needed to warn my airport pickup… but didn’t have a phone or his contact info… I noticed the guy next to me on the plane was watching a UFC fight on his phone, so I thought this could be my opportunity. We chatted for a bit, and then after breaking the ice I explained my situation and asked if he could text my ride. “Sure, no problem. What’s the number?” … I don’t know. “What?” My ride is the Colorado Springs Kudo dojo owner, organizer of the camp, and friend named J.D. Maybe google his dojo’s website? The guy found” A” website, but we didn’t know if it was “THE” website. The number wasn’t even for the right state! It did turn out to be his number though, and he just hadn’t updated his contact information in a while. After contacting him, JD said it was no problem. But since I was coming hours late, he would be busy as the liaison for the two Japanese instructors, so he was sending his wife to pick me up. What service! The guy who used his phone for me turned out to be a former high school and college wrestler, and since the training camp was open to everyone I tossed him an invite. He seemed keen, but he wasn’t sure he’d be able to get the time off work. He was a weed runner for some marijuana farm in Colorado, and it seems he couldn’t get away, because he never made it to the camp.
After JD’s wife picked me up in Colorado Springs, we drove straight to a camp welcoming dinner where a lot of people had already gathered for food, drinks, and to acclimate. It was delicious. At the dinner was Komatsu Sensei, one of the instructors for the camp. He was actually at the First USA Kudo tournament, which I fought in and received a deep cut over one of my eyebrows that ended my fight. I didn’t think he would remember me, but the second he saw me he said “Hey! How’s the souvenir?” Pointing to my eyebrow. He remembered me! We actually got along really well at the camp, and talked frequently. That night, and all subsequent nights, I and another student from Ohio slept in the dojo, because it was free, but also very comfortable. Or at least I thought so. My roommate nearly froze to death! I guess he wasn’t used to the mountains at night … he had on so many layers! He was wearing all his clothes, plus his training uniform, some jackets, and then he covered himself in kicking shields. In his defense, we didn’t have the heat turned on…
On the second day the camp started properly, but before the training began we went out to breakfast, then to the cave of the winds for some adventure, then headed out to Manitou Springs to drink from their 8 famous “magic” restorative natural springs. The water is delicious and naturally carbonated! I’m certainly not turning down naturally magic water to boost my skills; questing for magic water is right up my alley. In the late afternoon we commenced our training. The camp was officially held at the Colorado Springs Budokan, and was organized by J.D. Alexander Sensei-Colorado Branch Chief, and the two fantastic chief instructors of the camp were Komatsu Sensei – Akita Japan Branch Chief, and Ito Sensei – L.A. Branch Chief. The turnout was pretty good, including trainees from L.A., Texas, Ohio, Colorado, Japan, and myself among others. One of the students from L.A., a successful real estate company owner, was Japanese and interpreted for the instructors since they either didn’t like to, or couldn’t speak English. He left early to corner one of his students at the Sabaki Challenge and so the duty of interpreter fell to me. Our first training was an in-depth review of Kudo basic technique, followed by boxing drills. After training the group gathered at a sports bar to have dinner and watch Kato Sensei of Kudo fight in Belletor on Television. I thought Kato looked familiar, and it turned out I had actually trained with Kato Sensei during the First USA Kudo seminar years prior.
The next day we started bright and early for over 8 total hours of very intense training. The training was made all the more difficult by the fact that the Dojo is at a high elevation, significantly higher than Denver, and most of us were not used to the change at all. Our 8 hours of training were broken down into conditioning and basics, followed by intense combination work lead by Komatsu Sensei, and the second half of the day consisted of throwing and grappling techniques of all manner led by Ito Sensei. That evening we held a traditional dojo style drinking and social party, enkai, to better get to know everyone. Of course I was coaxed in to doing drunken one finger handstand pushups for the teachers. It was during this enkai that I learned Ito sensei works as a programming director for Fuji Television, the largest TV network in Japan, and also develops programs for US television. He became fascinated with me and said “I think I could make a reality TV show out of you. … Do you want a TV show?” Do I!? “I have no idea what it would be about, but you’re crazy so people would watch it.” He took out his phone to record and gave me a 15 minute interview, including the drunken one finger handstand pushups, things I’ve done, and things I’m planning to do, in order to show his production team. He told me these things take years to develop sometimes, and nothing may come of it. I’m sure nothing will probably come of it, but it’s nice to know there’s a chance. Also at the enkai I got to talking to one of the students whose wife turned out to be from Kodiak Island, Alaska, which I had just come from! She had a friend who ran a fishing boat and was going to get me on her boat because she thought our personalities would mesh perfectly. It would have been serendipitous if not for the fact that a couple months after that the fishing in Kodiak became so bad a state of emergency was declared and aid was brought in for the families who rely on fishing. I have the devil’s luck.
After the party we all went to bed, because the next day consisted of testing. Those testing for rank, and those wishing to participate were put through an intense examination that was filmed, along with the rest of camp, to send back to Azuma Jukuchou(headmaster) for review. The exam was 3 hours of intense review, followed by fighting. Bret, from L.A. dojo, was testing for his black belt and so had to do a 10 man fight. I was 2 of his fights: Standup fighting only, which I won, and grappling only, which we tied. He did fantastic, and was awarded his belt. After the exams the instructors kept telling me they couldn’t have done it without me, helping with the test and interpreting. If they needed me so bad, they should have let me know about the camp more than a week in advance and mentioned something about me being crucial… what if I couldn’t have made it!? As a gratitude to me though, I got all my meals and training paid for. Radical! To close the camp, those of us who had the time headed up into the mountains to visit the lovely Mount Princeton hot springs to soak our beaten bodies and relax our minds. The perfect end to a perfect camp. The first USA winter Kudo training camp was a success! The final night after everyone else had left I crashed at JD’s with his giant slobbery dogs, which I love, and he took me to the airport.
Now that I was back in the Midwest I needed to finish work on the house, get new renters in, and then jet off. Finishing the house took longer than I wanted but at least I could train while I was working on it, and even reached a new peak! However, getting renters who weren’t very clearly terrible investments was a nightmare. So many people with no jobs or money, and multiple felony convictions! Not that those things by default eliminate someone from being decent, but they weren’t even TRYING to make a good impression. Finally, after what seemed ages, I rented the place to a guy who owned an asphalt company. He was using it as a base for some of his employees and some trucks. Perfect. Of course, by the time I had rented the house, I had used most of my money sustaining myself! So, now I had to find a job. I figured I could just fall back to being a full time substitute high school teacher at the school I taught at a couple years prior. It should have been an easy gig. Should have been.
The school had gone downhill BIG TIME in the past couple of years. During the orientation meeting the lady running it kept stressing that we could NOT touch the students. “No hitting the students.” Then she would stare at me. “No sexual relations with the students.” Then she would stare at me. “Repeat: No touching of the students!” Again, I got a steely stare. There were other people at the meeting! Did she think all I did was hit things and bang them? … Can’t blame her for covering her bases. I had imagined a steady decline over time, but this school had suffered a straight plummeting drop in standards. The school had become full-on “inner-city” in the worst of that phrase’s connotations. I saw reflected in that school the downfall of society at large. It was like being the janitor on a boat that has caught fire and already half sunk, but you’re told to keep cleaning anyway. Sure, it wasn’t all bad: The high school girls were still all over me. Once, when teaching a class I asked if there were any questions; a group of girls raised their hands and said “will you take your shirt off?” My response: Not on the clock. I didn’t realize that would come back to get me though, because a couple of the high school girls lived in my neighborhood, which I found out when I went jogging. Without a shirt. I needed to be extra careful I didn’t get arrested because of an enthusiastic underage student! Besides the ego boost though, there were no perks to working there. The hours were terrible; I would have to wake up at 4:30 or 5 in the morning to get ready and make it on time. The atmosphere was terrible; students got arrested, IN SCHOOL, on a regular basis, and I even had some kids try to beat each other to death using desks! Also, the money was terrible; 9$ per hour to feel like I was trapped in a scene from “Escape From New York”. No thanks! The whole situation caused me some existential contemplation. It would seem that the educational system in general, and this one in particular were failures. If the students are the products of the schools, then is the product of a failed system by default a failure? Most of them were weak, soft, and non-adaptive, and had very little of the knowledge one would expect of people their age in a first world country. Would they be better off not even being in school? . There were too many people crammed into a failed institutional space; it was an odd sort of 3rd world type education in a supposed first world country. This was to be the breeding ground for the future! What could be done to fix this mess? I could see no revisions working, short of razing the entire system and building a new one.
The job was a bit depressing, but I got the money I needed. I worked for one semester, and then swore I would never go back. I had earned enough to take off for some training and clear my weighted mind. A couple of weeks before the school took off for summer vacation, I took off for Japan.
-Nash