Sensei and Sensibility
Tuesday, June 22, 2004
The Secret Skills of the Japanese
One of the few things that people know about the Japanese is that almost all of them who were raised in Japan know how to ride a unicycle.
Yes, it`s true. That immigrant you see working as a sushi chef can ride a unicycle! Whether or not he/she can prepare sushi at the same time is yet to be seen, however.
This oddity is caused by the fact that one essential supply for elementary schools to posess is not necessarily the computer, but the unicycle. Almost every school in Japan has a set, and all children are given unicycle training.
I tried to ride one here once, but my bulky buttocks could not fit in between the training rails....
Another little known fact about that same sushi chef from before is that he or she is probably highly skilled in a particular sport.
This is referred to as the "club phenomenon" by perhaps no one else but myself.
Recently, I was asked to join my neighbourhood`s ladies volleyball team. I hesitated, stating that I am not very good at the sport. They laughed and reassured me that it was just a team made up of local housewives and the like, most of whom are in the 30 to 40 year old bracket. Women with children, mostly. They also reassured me that it was just for fun.
So, I went to the first practice. I should have known by the shoes - matching Asics that the Japanese Olympic team uses. These were Volleyball shoes, and my Adidas joggers stood out against the other 7 ladies`s shoes like a peacock in a hen-house.
We started our game. The lady in the middle volleyed the ball way up high. Kobayashi san took a running leap and spiked the ball so hard that the receiver (me) fell backwards onto the floor and scrambled to try to get up. A big, black bruise now coats my left arm. Actually it is partially purple and olive green too - looking a bit like a Rorshach on pot. Poor Yoshi - were anyone to look at my arm, they could make incorrect assumptions about the poor boy. However, here, they don`t assume the same things that we do when they see a bruised arm. Immediately, they assume that one is a member of a Volleyball club....
Needless to say, it is all that I can do not to shame myself in these club practices.
I couldn`t believe the skill and ability with which these women played. Certainly, these 40 year-olds could take on pretty much any community team I`ve ever heard of and "kick some serious butt". Take a good look at that ageing sushi chef. He too has a skill that remains hidden, a viciousness on the court/pitch/ground/diamond that cannot be seen in the way he gently presses the fish to the rice.
The Club Phenomenon is perhaps unique to Japan. When I arrived here, one of the first questions my students wanted to know was which club I belonged to in school. I corrected their English: Which clubS had I belonged to. I listed them off: soccer and volleyball in elementary school, track and field (one time only), the school band, the Area band. In high school I was a member in two bands, two choirs, the recycling club, Musical Theatre club, the Drama club....
My students looked at me like I was a kind of god or something. I couldn`t understand it.
Soon enough, I was to witness "Club Selection Week" at the JHS. All the first years were paraded through each club`s practices. They had to participate in 2 practices in order to choose. The parents came. Other club members gave speeches and presentations. The first years were given a week to decide. They are only allowed to choose one club. They must commit to practicing their chosen club for at least 2 hours every day on weekdays, and for 4 hours on either Saturday or Sunday (or, in the case of Tennis, on BOTH days). They must also commit to practicing their chosen "Club Activity" for 4 hours at school on all school holidays - all vacation days, winter break, spring break, and throughout Summer "Vacation". This is on top of doing special homework workbooks for each subject.
I attended some volleyball practices here at the JHS during one boring summer day - we practiced the running and jumping (lay up) for spiking the ball for 3 hours, with only one 10 minute break for a sip of water. The next day, I couldn`t move. I have seen students go from bumping the ball with their faces (accidentally) during their first year, to executing olympic-quality moves on the court in their second year. They analyze the moves of the professionals, and spend ages perfecting them themselves.
There is a brief respite from club activities in High School. University entrance exams are so important here that club activities are optional.
Many adults join clubs in their towns so that they can retain their skills from their Junior High School days, which is why the housewives of Shinmachi definitely do still kick butt - some of them even after having 2 or more kids.
As for Yoshi, he belonged to the soccer club. I haven`t yet seen him play, but when I look at his gnarled up feet and swollen joints on his toes, I know that he must have lived in his ill-fitting soccer cleats when he was a Junior High Student.
I only hope that if we play soccer one day, we`ll be on the same team!!!!!
 Sabine . 7:59 PM . Comments
all journal entries
This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?
|
