Okinawa here we are – first two days and lots of training

After a turbulent journey we finally made it to Okinawa. We were awaited by Yamashiro Sensei and Nakayama san (our translator) at the airport in Naha. First of all we went to Matayoshi Shinpo’s grave and afterwards to our Minshuku. Tired as hell we fell onto our futon.
Next day Yamashiro Sensei picked us up at the minshuku and we all went to his dojo we a long training session started. We practiced from 8:45 to 12:00. Then Nakayama San drove with us to Naha where we changed money and rent a cart. Driving on the left side of the road is quite difficult but Shihan Jhonny is a professional by now.
After having a wonderful lunch (Okinawa soba – a typical okinawan soup served with chopsticks) we went back to the dojo to have another training session with Yamashiro Sensei. We trained for 3 more hours and enjoyed a nice sushi afterwards. Yamashiro Sensei is a wonderful teacher with a huge knowledge about Matayoshi Kobudo and its traditional background. He is very warm hearted and open minded.
Today we went to Naha. After our first ride with the monorail we visited Shureido and ordered some clothes and picked up some weapons. The we enjoyed a coffee at Starbucks on Kokusaidori. We visited the market on Kokusaidori. There we found a nice little shop with an elderly woman selling Hakama and Kimono. Shihan Kathrin was dressed with a nice Hakama and guess what, she bought it. After having a typical Okinawan sandwich (rice with seaweed) we went back to Yamashiro Sensei’ dojo where we enjoyed another 4 hours of training in Matayoshi Kobudo. It is so good to see that little has changed and yet the training is so full of details that the head barely grasps what the body tries to tell him. Yamashiro Sensei’s knowledge about Matayoshi Shinpo’s style of Kobudo is so rich that the time flies like crazy during our training sessions. To be continued…