OMGWTFBBQ

Photo by Nick Clute-Reinig

It just hit me that I'm going to be flying out to Japan this summer to fight in the World Naginata Championships. Flipping so many shits right now.

GRAWR.

Thwacking people on the head

Some select pictures from the 12th USNF Championship Tournament. Cool beans.

一本

There's a sharp crack.

Flags go up.

The competitors reset in the center of the court.

二本目。

focus.

Ready weapon.

Stab through chest.

Remove weapon.

Repeat as needed.

Oh, if only all problems could be solved with such ease.

lines.

Suit up or shut up.

a single blow.

You stand there, watching your opponent. He knows just as well as you do that it only takes one shot to end this match. And so you do everything you can to force him to leave himself open, to give you the split second that you need to fell him where he stands. But for every trick you pull, he pulls one in return. Every strike is matched, every lunge deflected. It's like fighting a reflection...

And so you realize that you have to fool the reflection. Give it nothing to be a reflection of, thus eradicating the substance that which comprises the shadow. Empty the mind and lose yourself. Do that, and you lose your opponent. At that moment, you've almost won. Only one more thing to do. You strike. The snap of the bamboo reverberates through your arms and down into your body, chilling your spine as it goes. He falls. You breathe a sigh of relief. It's all over now.

Excuse the rambling. It's Martini Tuesday.

Longing

It's ridiculous how badly I want to step back into a dojo, put on my equipment, and just fight. I can hear the yells and cracking of bamboo on bamboo in my head, but it isn't enough. I want to feel it all. To experience it again in more than just shadows and memories. Just a little over a month until I can get back to training.

조금 기다려

"I'm training you hard because the rest of the world won't be easy" - Kevin Saxton

______________________________________________________

A random moment of introspection reminded me that the Nationals are coming up for naginata, here in sunny Southern California. If I do well there, I'll be representing the USA in 2011, pitted against some of the strongest practitioners of naginata in the entire world. To add a touch of romanticism, the whole shindig's going down in Japan. I've been training for this since I was twelve, looking forward to the day when I'd be able to join Team USA and give it my all against the international naginata community.

And now, I'm stuck practicing on my own, with the biggest tournament of my life thus far looming in the distance. I can do nothing but practice diligently... and wait.

Pointless Nostalgia

As I look at this picture, I realize just how desperately I want to step into a dojo and smack someone in the head. Especially with nationals coming up, I fear that I'm getting soft. Hell, I'm losing calluses. My feet are no longer as hardened as disgusting as they once were, and this makes me sad.

Inspired, perhaps?

Just got back from the 2009 SCNF Naginata Seminar and whatnot. Didn't do as well in the taikai as I would've hoped, but at least I got my nidan.

Regardless of my physical performance, at least I took some pretty pictures. Definitely some of my favorite naginata pictures that I've taken.

These ugly things have protected my hands and wrists for years. They've been good to me.


I had an obsession with taking this style of shot over the weekend. Strange.


Soooo this is Yamauchi-sensei. She's older and smaller than me, but still manages to beat pretty much everyone in the country, if not most of the world. Kinda like Yoda.

"You are nidan now! Do not (insert bad habit here)!"

I greatly enjoy shooting wide open.


My teacher and mentor, Kevin Saxton. Bamf.

"I'm training you hard because the rest of the world won't be easy"

And my favorite picture of the weekend. Simple and clean.


Dunno if this will suit anyone's fancy, but I sure enjoyed taking these pictures.

Wham! Ouch.

Well the hole in my eardrum hasn't healed yet, it turns out. And practicing Kendo last week was a mistake. So I sat out the Mori Hai Tournament today and took pictures instead.

The Mori Hai tournament is in commemoration of the late Torao Mori-sensei, the man who pretty much is the father of Kendo in Southern California. He was also the head sensei at my Kendo dojo. Strangely enough, he was also my naginata-sensei's instructor in the U.S. It's funny because I'm training directly under two of his few remaining students. It's as if his teachings branch out then start to combine with me. That's assuming I'm not too thickheaded to take it in, of course.

But yeah, on to the pictures. I am somewhat proud of these. Oh, and if you're shooting with a pro lens, people instantly get out of your way.

Getting whacked on the head...


Awkward position...


This girl's from my dojo. She got 3rd in her division I think...


In the middle of a match, one of the shinpan passed out. Still not sure what happened. Dehydration? Stroke? Hopefully nothing too serious...


I just like this one. I'm becoming a fan of focusing on something in the background rather than the foreground.


My favorite of the day. The guy on the right is Park-sensei. What a beast.


Well that was fun. But I'm not all that big on action shots. For one, I'm a bit slow and have trouble with the timing. Two, I'm sort of an artsy fartsy guy. I think.

Philm

Just a little mini update.

My faithful negative folder has finally given in to wear-and-tear. I have since had to create a new one. But I guess it was fortunate, seeing as it forced me to go through my negatives for the first time in a long time. I have a lot of stuff I want to print in the coming weeks, so keep your eyes peeled.

Here's some that I took at a rank examination for Kendo last fall. I took my test (and passed), ran to my equipment bag, took out my Nikon, and shot a roll of Neopan to kill some time. I was quite happy with the results.


Any dust spots are from the scanner bed. The actual print's more or less spotless.


Ahhh...there's nothing quite like film. Digital's convenient, but there's a certain quality to black and white film that a photoshopped digital file lacks.