Students
of the Month for
the month of May
Seth and Madonna have been selected for Student of the Month for the month of May because of their commitment and contribution to our dojo and Iaido.
How
did you find Kenshin Dojo?
Madonna: Matsuri, 2003!
Seth: I saw the pamphlet from the 2002 Matsuri
and decided to give Sensei a call.
How
long have you been doing Iaido and what rank do you hold?
Seth: I've been an iaidoka since May of 2003 and
am currently unranked.
Madonna: N/A. I'm just a fly-by-night (or fly-on-the-wall???)
translator.
Do
you have a rank in another martial art?
Madonna: Ichi-dan in Shodo, some rank in Sou-ryu
Ikenobo. This means that I am dangerous with a calligraphy brush and
a pair of flower shears. (So the real answer would be a NO.)
Seth: I hold the rank of nidan in Shorin-Ryu
Shido-kan Karate Do
What
made you decide to do Iaido?
Seth: I have always been fascinated by nihonto,
and needed to re-engage in the discipline and physical aspect of an
Asian martial art after my hiatus from karate. Combining these made
Iaido a natural choice!
Madonna: N/A. Though I have to admit I had an overwhelming
urge to study Iaido when I saw Rurouni Kenshin a few years ago. But
then I realized I just wanted to have sword fights, not study hard and
learn self-discipline.
What
is the most memorable experience that you've had at the dojo?
Madonna: Visit by Toyoda Sensei. It was humbling
to see how down-to-earth he is, after seeing how he moves with a sword.
Seth: Senpai Doyle during kenbu: "OK, girls,
keep those iaitos up!!!"
What
have you gained by doing Iaido?
Seth: I have gained greater self-awareness, peace
of mind, and much stronger leg muscles. :-)
Madonna: I'm studying and relearning aspects of
Japan that I never thought I would. If I knew all this stuff in grade
school, I may not have flunked so many history/ social study classes!
Have
you ever been to Japan?
Madonna: From 0 to 12 years old. I've visited Japan
about 6-7 times since then.
Seth: I have visited Japan twice, and both times
I spent a lot of time in Kyoto. It is a beautiful city with tremendous
history and culture. I highly recommend it!
Are
you involved in any Japanese culture? Language?
Seth: Well, I married a Japanese lady, if that
counts. :-) My efforts to understand Japanese culture and language coincide
with my efforts to find something I can discuss with my father-in-law.
:-)
Madonna: No, I guess...
What
is your favorite Japanese dish?
Madonna: I obsessed over Gohei-mochi for a couple
of years until a friend sent me 2 dozen of them. They are basically
a slab of rice mushed into an oval shape, skewered with a wide bamboo
stick, broiled over an open fire, and brushed with a sweet miso sauce.
Always happy to have Mitarashi-dango. Big fan of Tamago-dofu (egg tofu),
and the super-fresh Una-jyu (eel over rice) from Unakasa with a side
of Una-kimo (eel liver) soup is awesome too. Broiled hamaguri (giant
clam?) on the beach is hard to beat, as is Sazae tsubo-yaki (3-4 inch
spiral shellfish broiled in its shell with some sake). Krab sashimi
and Matsutake (super expensive, seasonal mushroom) soup are excellent
too. Mmmmmmm. Wrong question to try to answer right before lunch! The
one Japanese food I have dreams about on a regular bases is the green
tea soft serve icecream you can only get near my grandma's house. This
tea house perfected the delicate art of adding just the right amount
of quality Maccha and sugar so that you taste the pure, unadulterated
green tea flavor with the *perfect* degree of sweetness, and no bitter
or honey taste to distract your taste buds.
Seth: I love simple things like inarizushi, ochazuke,
and cold tofu with some negi and shoyu. My wife's a master at preparing
konyaku (she must be at least a hachi-dan). And I'm always up for a
pile of edamame.
