New Year's Training: Yamaki Karate, Hollywood, & Las Vegas
20.X.1
New Year's Eve.
They say that what you are doing when the year changes over indicates what the coming year will be filled with. So I spend every new year's transition the same.
Training.
This year would be no different, but I planed to take it to the max.
I began my training at around 9pm. Warm ups, basics, kata, shadow sparring, bag work, grappling techniques review, conditioning, meditation, and the cerimonial ice cold shower. The training was fantastic, and by the time I was done it was about 1 in the morning...
...The Year 20.X.1 !!!
Now it was time to continue with the new year's festivities, the way everyone else does. I headed off to a buddy of mine's who was having a new year's party. Brandon. Everyone was well beyond happy and drunk by the time I arrived. I visited with them for awhile, but had to leave around 3 in the morning. I had a plane to California to catch!
I had a few things to do in California, my buddy Adam wanted to visit a friend of ours, and we decided to make a trip of it. I met Adam around 3:30 am and we headed off to the airport. We where on a plane by 6. We had a slight layover in Phoenix Arizona, and surprisingly it was covered in snow. Rumor has it, it was one of their coldest winters. After our layover we where on our way, and arrived in Los Angeles around 10am. That's when Jason picked us up.
Jason was the person Adam wanted to visit, and visiting him was one of the main reasons I went to California as well. Jason is a Hip-Hop artist, and moved to California to further his career and be with his girlfriend. his Artist name is "Elemint B. Fresh". During the 20x year, his album finished in the top 3 in the under 20$ category on amazon.com.. His website was here:
http://elemintbornfresh.com/
Or you can download his music from various websites (such as amazon).
Jason took us back to his place and told us about California. He then introduced us to his girlfriend Cindy. The four of us then spent the rest of the day casually relaxing and catching up.
Day 2: Sunday January 2
Jason took us to a neighborhood video store where we could get some movies to watch and relax to. We got "The A-team". It was also this day that I discovered a book lying around Jason and Cindy's house. A book that seemed to have been written by someone of the exact same mind as myself. It's called: " The Freedom Manifesto: How to Free Yourself from Anxiety, Fear, Mortgages, Money, Guilt, Debt, Government, Boredom, Supermarkets, Bills, Melancholy, Pain, Depression, Work, and Waste " by Tom Hodgkinson. I started reading it and couldn't put it down. I read the whole book. I encourage everyone to read this book. It didn't give me any new ideas, but it did let me know that there are people who think like I do. It might give you new ideas though. READ THIS BOOK! At night Adam and I decided to walk around and get a feel for the part of L.A. we where in. Lots of taco stands... too many taco stands. I did manage to find a couple of karate dojo though. One of which, which seemed to just be called "Power Karate", looked absolutely beautiful.
Day 3: Monday, January 3
At my insistence, Jason, Adam and I went to little Tokyo. Aside from great food, there isn't anything really interesting to go see. Jason said the Wikipedia page should read:
"when visiting little Tokyo...don't."
I do not recommend it. Adam did treat us to a great meal there though. We all agreed to keep it small, and order 2 things from the cheap menu. However, Jason got a cell phone call and stepped outside for a second. When he came back, the table was packed with multiple courses of food for everyone, with multiple drinks... Adam and I are not to be left alone apparently...
That night we went to Hollywood. On the way we passed through a closed Chinatown that looked very interesting. I would like to go sometime. In Hollywood, we saw the normal sights, and went to amoeba, which is a large music and movie store. Their selection is fantastic. We also saw a bus with a picture of a guy advertising his new show on it. In real life he looks nothing like me, but from the angle of the picture, he looked a bit like me. Jason suggested we tell everyone I was the guy so we could get free things...
Day 4: Tuesday, January 4
The other main reason I came to California: back in April of the previous year, I competed in a Kyokushin Karate tournament in Portland Oregon. The infamous "3 days no food no sleep" story. While there I met a Karate fighter named Toshiki Otani. After some talking, he invited me to California to train with his master: and so I had come.
He practices Yamaki Karate. His master is none other than Kenji Yamaki. A very famous and powerful Kyokushin Karate practitioner. He has won the All-Japan tournament, the world tournament, and completed the 100 man kumite. He has also been in a few movies. Like he was Dolph Lundgren's costar in the original "The Punisher", and was also in "Onmyoji". His dojo's website is here:
http://www.yamakius.com/
and this is an interesting video about him:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UD99xiTpDas
His dojo is located in Torrence, but the training didn't start until night time. Jason was kind enough to drop me off in Torrence around noon, where I was free to do one of the things I do best. Drift. I drifted around Torrence for hours. I eventually wound up at a mall seeking frozen yogurt. I needed to break the bill I was carrying, so I though frozen yogurt would be the way to do it. I ordered a large. What I didn't know was how "large" the large was. "MondoHugeMongus-Max" would have been a more descriptive name. The thing I received full of frozen yogurt would have been at home holding a small order of fried chicken. After the Yogurt I went back to wondering around, eventually ending up at the dojo.
As I was reading the signs in their window, Toshiki came outside.
"Nash! so good to see you. Come in." We talked for a bit.
"Have you gained weight? You look like you have been training. What are you... 82 kilos now?"
Exactly 82. Of course, the last time you saw me I hadn't eaten or slept in a few days.
Toshiki introduced me to his master, Shihan Kenji Yamaki. In all his pictures Yamaki Shihan looks very mean or angry, but that's just his face. He is actually very personable and nice. We talked about where I had trained and with whom, and he was surprised to learn that I frequent IKO1's Yamada Shihan's Shinjuku dojo in Tokyo.
Then we trained.
The training was just like it is in Japan. Including being in Japanese. In fact, everyone there either was Japanese, or spoke Japanese. If you had told me I was in Japan, I would have believed you; It was the same right down to the smell. The training was great, and we all had good sparring. After class we worked on conditioning, and Yamaki Shihan gave me personal training by suggesting ways to improve. He told Toshiki " He's strong! Once his technique is perfect he'll be very very good." I'll take that as a compliment... Training with Yamaki Shihan was good for correcting some of the habits I had gotten into when practicing MMA (mixed martial arts), of course the goal is to become better at everything, not lapse into bad habits when practicing something else. Thank you Yamaki Shihan.
After training Toshiki turned to his friend who had been watching training and said: "Look who it is" and pointed to me. He sat there for a second with a puzzled look on his face, before finally yelling "...Nash!? from the Portland tournament? You came! I couldn't figure out why you looked so familiar! Yamaki Shihan, you should have seen Nash last year. We where so sure he was going to beat everyone! Hey, didn't you stay awake a long time because of plane trouble before the tournament?"
...Yes.
"Ha. I remember you fell asleep in the grass at the tournament after fighting didn't you?"
...yes. a little.
"Wow, you have perfect Japanese. You must use it all the time."
No, I hardly ever use it, so it gets worse all the time.
"really? it's so good, you don't notice. when is the last time you went to Japan?"
Well I was there in the summer for the 88 temple pilgrimage shugyo.
"What!? That's awesome!"
The three of us talked for a long time before Jason and Adam came to pick me up. I thanked Otani and Yamaki Shihan for the training, and they invited me to come train again sometime.
I said I would.
Jason, Adam, and I left the dojo and headed for Jason's house. I showered up and got ready, because in the morning, ... we where going to Las Vegas...
Day 5: Wednesday, January 5
Jason drove the three of us to Las Vegas. It was much colder than it usually is there, but it was still Vegas. It had a Roppongi/ KabukiCho kind of vibe from street hustlers.
Drinking my usual Eiffel tower shaped drink, the three of us set out to have a blast and wound up at a strip club of some repute. I don't fancy spending money on that sort of thing, and hate the smell, but the ambiance wasn't bad. A member of our party got drunk and immediately lost his mind, taking not one but two strippers to a private room, apparently not caring about the financial consequences. He wound up spending 1,000$. While that was happening myself and the other remaining party member waited for our third's return, and began getting accosted by the strippers. They wouldn't take “no” for an answer. I repeatedly stated I wanted no dances, and had no money. “It's ok, this one's free.” No. “It's fine.” We went round and round until finally I said ok. I looked over and it seemed my accomplice was having the same problem as myself. After my “free dance” the stripper demanded I fork over 20$. I told her I didn't have it, and if I did I wouldn't give it to her since my dance was “free”. She immediately became a raging bitch and my buddy only fanned the flames. Soon the stripper was telling us that her manager and security were on their way over to beat our asses. I was giddy at the thought of having an epic brawl in a top Vegas strip club, but no-one ever came. We eventually left in a mundane fashion, crashing at some guy's house that Jason knew.
We had a good time.
Day 6: Thursday, January 6
Breakfast at an IHOP in Vegas. At the Gas station we discovered Adam's Credit/Debit cards had been shut off as a result of the night before...
In the afternoon Jason drove the 3 of us back to L.A. That night we watched "The Social Network" and got some much needed rest.
Day 7: Friday, January 7
Jason, Adam, and myself went on a house scavenger hunt. I was on a mission to photograph a few certain houses in Long Beach, so we made a trip of it.
Long Beach also happened to bring me to another reason I came to California: Visiting Joshua Gibbs. Mr. Gibbs lived in the same dormitory I did while I lived in a dorm in Japan. I hadn't seen him in years, and I knew he would have some amazing adventures to tell me about. He has some of my favorite stories. As I approached his house, I wondered what he would look like now. Then I got my answer.
A Hippy.
We greeted each other, then he stopped himself mid-sentence: "...is that the same jacket you had in Japan!? It's so beat up!"
Of course it is.
Josh led Jason, Adam and me to a Thai/Cambodian restaurant. We ate and caught up with each other... and Josh told some amazing stories. The four of us then went to Venice (muscle) beach. We stayed quite a while, and Jason decided he was going to buy some "herbal supplements" from someone on the street.
"Are you a cop!?" The man aggressively asked me.
No, I replied; but he wouldn't believe me. We went back and forth for a bit. He was concerned I was a cop, because he had just come off some substantial jail time. We kept talking, and suspicion turned to conversation. It turns out, he was a really interesting and cool guy. His name is Yoshi. He had tatoos of his name and namesake on his body, and pointed us towards really cool first Friday exhibitions. It was at one of the exhibitions we found a great band: Rakes (I think that is their name...). They where playing in a sculpture garden. We got one of their CD's.
We also saw a gallery about a farting cartoon elephant. It was incredible.
As we where walking around that night, Jason casually suggested I try and jump up and kick a specific branch on this tree. Sounded like a good idea to me. After getting my bearings, I did it...but the picture is taken from an angle that looks like I'm still on the ground. Maybe having Jason in the picture for scale will help. He is taller than me after all.
Next we encountered an odd van giving away wind up goldfish called "Mr. Timms". Aparently he is a "Super Special Fish!", who spreads joy and peace. Entering a bean bag toss, I won WAY too much Mr. Timms merchandise. Pens, posters, windup fish, magnets, a shirt, and a couple other things. I still don't know what their deal is, but this is their website, I think:
http://www.mrtimms.com/
Odd.
After all the adventure that day, Adam, Jason and I went back to Hollywood at night and Jason and Adam had a huge fight. I have no idea what it was about though. After that, Adam went his own way.
Day 8: Saturday, January 8
Jason and Cindy took me to an all you can eat sushi restaurant called "SKY SUSHI". The place is one of the best sushi places I have ever been to, anywhere in the world. If you have a chance, and you're in Los Angeles, please go.
20$ all you can eat!
Day 9: Sunday, January 9
Cindy dropped me off at the airport in Long Beach (a different one than I had arrived at) at about 5 in the morning. I ran into Adam at the airport and we caught up.
As I sat on the plane I reflected on my training mission, the people I'd seen, and the things I'd done. Not only was it a great trip, it was the best start to a New Year I'd ever Had!
Training, Travel, Training, Adventure, Old Friends and Good Stories.
Now, how can I eventually top this?....
-Nash
"Go For Broke!"
They say that what you are doing when the year changes over indicates what the coming year will be filled with. So I spend every new year's transition the same.
Training.
This year would be no different, but I planed to take it to the max.
I began my training at around 9pm. Warm ups, basics, kata, shadow sparring, bag work, grappling techniques review, conditioning, meditation, and the cerimonial ice cold shower. The training was fantastic, and by the time I was done it was about 1 in the morning...
...The Year 20.X.1 !!!
Now it was time to continue with the new year's festivities, the way everyone else does. I headed off to a buddy of mine's who was having a new year's party. Brandon. Everyone was well beyond happy and drunk by the time I arrived. I visited with them for awhile, but had to leave around 3 in the morning. I had a plane to California to catch!
I had a few things to do in California, my buddy Adam wanted to visit a friend of ours, and we decided to make a trip of it. I met Adam around 3:30 am and we headed off to the airport. We where on a plane by 6. We had a slight layover in Phoenix Arizona, and surprisingly it was covered in snow. Rumor has it, it was one of their coldest winters. After our layover we where on our way, and arrived in Los Angeles around 10am. That's when Jason picked us up.
Jason was the person Adam wanted to visit, and visiting him was one of the main reasons I went to California as well. Jason is a Hip-Hop artist, and moved to California to further his career and be with his girlfriend. his Artist name is "Elemint B. Fresh". During the 20x year, his album finished in the top 3 in the under 20$ category on amazon.com.. His website was here:
http://elemintbornfresh.com/
Or you can download his music from various websites (such as amazon).
Jason took us back to his place and told us about California. He then introduced us to his girlfriend Cindy. The four of us then spent the rest of the day casually relaxing and catching up.
Day 2: Sunday January 2
Jason took us to a neighborhood video store where we could get some movies to watch and relax to. We got "The A-team". It was also this day that I discovered a book lying around Jason and Cindy's house. A book that seemed to have been written by someone of the exact same mind as myself. It's called: " The Freedom Manifesto: How to Free Yourself from Anxiety, Fear, Mortgages, Money, Guilt, Debt, Government, Boredom, Supermarkets, Bills, Melancholy, Pain, Depression, Work, and Waste " by Tom Hodgkinson. I started reading it and couldn't put it down. I read the whole book. I encourage everyone to read this book. It didn't give me any new ideas, but it did let me know that there are people who think like I do. It might give you new ideas though. READ THIS BOOK! At night Adam and I decided to walk around and get a feel for the part of L.A. we where in. Lots of taco stands... too many taco stands. I did manage to find a couple of karate dojo though. One of which, which seemed to just be called "Power Karate", looked absolutely beautiful.
Day 3: Monday, January 3
At my insistence, Jason, Adam and I went to little Tokyo. Aside from great food, there isn't anything really interesting to go see. Jason said the Wikipedia page should read:
"when visiting little Tokyo...don't."
I do not recommend it. Adam did treat us to a great meal there though. We all agreed to keep it small, and order 2 things from the cheap menu. However, Jason got a cell phone call and stepped outside for a second. When he came back, the table was packed with multiple courses of food for everyone, with multiple drinks... Adam and I are not to be left alone apparently...
That night we went to Hollywood. On the way we passed through a closed Chinatown that looked very interesting. I would like to go sometime. In Hollywood, we saw the normal sights, and went to amoeba, which is a large music and movie store. Their selection is fantastic. We also saw a bus with a picture of a guy advertising his new show on it. In real life he looks nothing like me, but from the angle of the picture, he looked a bit like me. Jason suggested we tell everyone I was the guy so we could get free things...
Day 4: Tuesday, January 4
The other main reason I came to California: back in April of the previous year, I competed in a Kyokushin Karate tournament in Portland Oregon. The infamous "3 days no food no sleep" story. While there I met a Karate fighter named Toshiki Otani. After some talking, he invited me to California to train with his master: and so I had come.
He practices Yamaki Karate. His master is none other than Kenji Yamaki. A very famous and powerful Kyokushin Karate practitioner. He has won the All-Japan tournament, the world tournament, and completed the 100 man kumite. He has also been in a few movies. Like he was Dolph Lundgren's costar in the original "The Punisher", and was also in "Onmyoji". His dojo's website is here:
http://www.yamakius.com/
and this is an interesting video about him:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UD99xiTpDas
His dojo is located in Torrence, but the training didn't start until night time. Jason was kind enough to drop me off in Torrence around noon, where I was free to do one of the things I do best. Drift. I drifted around Torrence for hours. I eventually wound up at a mall seeking frozen yogurt. I needed to break the bill I was carrying, so I though frozen yogurt would be the way to do it. I ordered a large. What I didn't know was how "large" the large was. "MondoHugeMongus-Max" would have been a more descriptive name. The thing I received full of frozen yogurt would have been at home holding a small order of fried chicken. After the Yogurt I went back to wondering around, eventually ending up at the dojo.
As I was reading the signs in their window, Toshiki came outside.
"Nash! so good to see you. Come in." We talked for a bit.
"Have you gained weight? You look like you have been training. What are you... 82 kilos now?"
Exactly 82. Of course, the last time you saw me I hadn't eaten or slept in a few days.
Toshiki introduced me to his master, Shihan Kenji Yamaki. In all his pictures Yamaki Shihan looks very mean or angry, but that's just his face. He is actually very personable and nice. We talked about where I had trained and with whom, and he was surprised to learn that I frequent IKO1's Yamada Shihan's Shinjuku dojo in Tokyo.
Then we trained.
The training was just like it is in Japan. Including being in Japanese. In fact, everyone there either was Japanese, or spoke Japanese. If you had told me I was in Japan, I would have believed you; It was the same right down to the smell. The training was great, and we all had good sparring. After class we worked on conditioning, and Yamaki Shihan gave me personal training by suggesting ways to improve. He told Toshiki " He's strong! Once his technique is perfect he'll be very very good." I'll take that as a compliment... Training with Yamaki Shihan was good for correcting some of the habits I had gotten into when practicing MMA (mixed martial arts), of course the goal is to become better at everything, not lapse into bad habits when practicing something else. Thank you Yamaki Shihan.
After training Toshiki turned to his friend who had been watching training and said: "Look who it is" and pointed to me. He sat there for a second with a puzzled look on his face, before finally yelling "...Nash!? from the Portland tournament? You came! I couldn't figure out why you looked so familiar! Yamaki Shihan, you should have seen Nash last year. We where so sure he was going to beat everyone! Hey, didn't you stay awake a long time because of plane trouble before the tournament?"
...Yes.
"Ha. I remember you fell asleep in the grass at the tournament after fighting didn't you?"
...yes. a little.
"Wow, you have perfect Japanese. You must use it all the time."
No, I hardly ever use it, so it gets worse all the time.
"really? it's so good, you don't notice. when is the last time you went to Japan?"
Well I was there in the summer for the 88 temple pilgrimage shugyo.
"What!? That's awesome!"
The three of us talked for a long time before Jason and Adam came to pick me up. I thanked Otani and Yamaki Shihan for the training, and they invited me to come train again sometime.
I said I would.
Jason, Adam, and I left the dojo and headed for Jason's house. I showered up and got ready, because in the morning, ... we where going to Las Vegas...
Day 5: Wednesday, January 5
Jason drove the three of us to Las Vegas. It was much colder than it usually is there, but it was still Vegas. It had a Roppongi/ KabukiCho kind of vibe from street hustlers.
Drinking my usual Eiffel tower shaped drink, the three of us set out to have a blast and wound up at a strip club of some repute. I don't fancy spending money on that sort of thing, and hate the smell, but the ambiance wasn't bad. A member of our party got drunk and immediately lost his mind, taking not one but two strippers to a private room, apparently not caring about the financial consequences. He wound up spending 1,000$. While that was happening myself and the other remaining party member waited for our third's return, and began getting accosted by the strippers. They wouldn't take “no” for an answer. I repeatedly stated I wanted no dances, and had no money. “It's ok, this one's free.” No. “It's fine.” We went round and round until finally I said ok. I looked over and it seemed my accomplice was having the same problem as myself. After my “free dance” the stripper demanded I fork over 20$. I told her I didn't have it, and if I did I wouldn't give it to her since my dance was “free”. She immediately became a raging bitch and my buddy only fanned the flames. Soon the stripper was telling us that her manager and security were on their way over to beat our asses. I was giddy at the thought of having an epic brawl in a top Vegas strip club, but no-one ever came. We eventually left in a mundane fashion, crashing at some guy's house that Jason knew.
We had a good time.
Day 6: Thursday, January 6
Breakfast at an IHOP in Vegas. At the Gas station we discovered Adam's Credit/Debit cards had been shut off as a result of the night before...
In the afternoon Jason drove the 3 of us back to L.A. That night we watched "The Social Network" and got some much needed rest.
Day 7: Friday, January 7
Jason, Adam, and myself went on a house scavenger hunt. I was on a mission to photograph a few certain houses in Long Beach, so we made a trip of it.
Long Beach also happened to bring me to another reason I came to California: Visiting Joshua Gibbs. Mr. Gibbs lived in the same dormitory I did while I lived in a dorm in Japan. I hadn't seen him in years, and I knew he would have some amazing adventures to tell me about. He has some of my favorite stories. As I approached his house, I wondered what he would look like now. Then I got my answer.
A Hippy.
We greeted each other, then he stopped himself mid-sentence: "...is that the same jacket you had in Japan!? It's so beat up!"
Of course it is.
Josh led Jason, Adam and me to a Thai/Cambodian restaurant. We ate and caught up with each other... and Josh told some amazing stories. The four of us then went to Venice (muscle) beach. We stayed quite a while, and Jason decided he was going to buy some "herbal supplements" from someone on the street.
"Are you a cop!?" The man aggressively asked me.
No, I replied; but he wouldn't believe me. We went back and forth for a bit. He was concerned I was a cop, because he had just come off some substantial jail time. We kept talking, and suspicion turned to conversation. It turns out, he was a really interesting and cool guy. His name is Yoshi. He had tatoos of his name and namesake on his body, and pointed us towards really cool first Friday exhibitions. It was at one of the exhibitions we found a great band: Rakes (I think that is their name...). They where playing in a sculpture garden. We got one of their CD's.
We also saw a gallery about a farting cartoon elephant. It was incredible.
As we where walking around that night, Jason casually suggested I try and jump up and kick a specific branch on this tree. Sounded like a good idea to me. After getting my bearings, I did it...but the picture is taken from an angle that looks like I'm still on the ground. Maybe having Jason in the picture for scale will help. He is taller than me after all.
Next we encountered an odd van giving away wind up goldfish called "Mr. Timms". Aparently he is a "Super Special Fish!", who spreads joy and peace. Entering a bean bag toss, I won WAY too much Mr. Timms merchandise. Pens, posters, windup fish, magnets, a shirt, and a couple other things. I still don't know what their deal is, but this is their website, I think:
http://www.mrtimms.com/
Odd.
After all the adventure that day, Adam, Jason and I went back to Hollywood at night and Jason and Adam had a huge fight. I have no idea what it was about though. After that, Adam went his own way.
Day 8: Saturday, January 8
Jason and Cindy took me to an all you can eat sushi restaurant called "SKY SUSHI". The place is one of the best sushi places I have ever been to, anywhere in the world. If you have a chance, and you're in Los Angeles, please go.
20$ all you can eat!
Day 9: Sunday, January 9
Cindy dropped me off at the airport in Long Beach (a different one than I had arrived at) at about 5 in the morning. I ran into Adam at the airport and we caught up.
As I sat on the plane I reflected on my training mission, the people I'd seen, and the things I'd done. Not only was it a great trip, it was the best start to a New Year I'd ever Had!
Training, Travel, Training, Adventure, Old Friends and Good Stories.
Now, how can I eventually top this?....
-Nash
"Go For Broke!"