Back to Kendo

Last August, I suffered six different injuries. I suppose that's what happens when you have a sedentary lifestyle and suddenly take up a high-impact sport like kendo. I had to rest and go to physical therapy which can be time-consuming and expensive too.

Now, I've been discharged from physical therapy and I can go back to kendo but I still have to do strengthening exercises for my kneecaps to return to normal. I've also been swimming to aid with therapy.

Last Saturday, IGA Kendo Club held a Christmas Shiai (Tournament). I joined the beginners' division, which is a team tournament.

Everyone lined up
(photo by my clubmate, Darwin)

I lost my match and didn't score a point but I did my best and I'm happy with that. One of my favourite senpai (club senior) told me that I did well and that my form was good. That's what really matters, I guess.

Getting ready
(photo by my clubmate, Darwin)

Anyway, our team won.

Our team with our sensei, our club manager, and some of the children club members
(photo by my clubmate, Darwin)

Posing with my first kendo medal during the Christmas party held the day after

I missed kendo so much. It's good to be back! This time, I promise to take care of myself better (proper stretching, proper rest) in order to prevent injuries.

Kendo Watercolor Silhouette Series

With all the stress and anxiety I've been feeling recently, kendo has been one of my effective stress-relievers. With all the shouting during kendo training, I cannot imagine how it won't relieve anyone from stress.

One day, I just felt like channeling my feelings towards kendo into art. Thing is, I can't draw realistic illustrations. Instead, I had an idea of painting colored silhouettes. At least, I know I can draw outlines.

First painting: Hitting 'men' (面). I was pretty bummed after training the night before I painted this because I couldn't hit properly. My shinai kept going to the right (because I use my right arm too much when I should only be using my left) and my fumikomi (the act of lunging or jumping in to reach the opponent) wasn't good either. I made this painting whilst telling myself that I will train hard and that I will not let myself down.

Second painting: Sonkyo. After the first painting, I decided to turn the thing into a series. The second ended up to be sonkyo (the squatting position taken before and after a match to show respect to one's opponent). I made this right before I left the house to go to the 2nd Metro Manila Kendo Friendship Cup. It was cool seeing my seniors compete in a tournament!

Third painting: Hidari jodan no kamae. Now this one looks a bit different from the first two because I used a different watercolor paper (Apparently, Canson is better than Mizuchi for wet-on-wet paintings.) and I also added some texture using salt. Yup, salt!

Now that's the first three. I'm looking at making between four to six for this series. First I'll have to think about the poses I want to paint haha.

Life Lately, in Paintings

During kendo training last Saturday, our sensei made us wear bogu (kendo armor) and do shiai (sparring). It's actually my first time to wear bogu and to do shiai.

Well, I don't know if my match was a draw or a loss. I'm pretty sure I didn't win because I didn't get a point but I have no idea if my opponent got a score either. While I did manage to hit my opponent a few times, I didn't do proper follow-through, and that's maybe/apparently why I couldn't earn a point. Well, it doesn't matter really if I won or lost because the point of the shiai was to show us the importance of kihon ("basics" or "fundamentals", in Japanese).

It was a really nice experience (and I can't wait to see the videos to see how silly/stupid I looked during my match haha). I'm motivated to train harder at kihon and eventually pass the bogu exam so that I can finally wear a bogu.

"Kihon! Kihon! Kihon!!", sensei always says.

These past few weeks, I've been trying to figure out what I really want out of life and maybe I need to stop fooling myself that I'm fine with what I am and what I have right now. Instead, I need to start going for what I really want.

"I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul."

I know I made bad choices these past few years but I'll make sure that I will learn something out of them.

And sadly, I'm going through a little heartbreak right now. Well, my heart's been broken a few times before. But maybe the word "broken" doesn't cut it... more like it's been crushed before and this one I'm experiencing right now is probably just a little crack-- nothing my resilient heart cannot handle.

And with all that's happening, an emotional Heimlich would be really useful. As Chuck from Pushing Daisies said, "A hug can turn your day around. It's like an emotional Heimlich. Someone puts their arms around you and they give you a squeeze and all your fear and anxiety come shooting out of your mouth in a big wet wad and you can breathe again."

But maybe a nice movie doesn't hurt. I watched Kingsman last week and I absolutely loved it. Action, comedy, gentlemen in suits... just my cup of tea.

Also, Game of Thrones.

Or maybe some meditation.

No worries, I'm totally fine. :)

Just Keep Painting

One of the principles we're taught during kendo training is to keep pushing forward. When you make a mistake, keep pushing forward. Act as if nothing happened. However, make sure that you do better in your next attempt, that you don't keep repeating your mistake, and that you continuously improve yourself.

Now, one of the things I really love about kendo is that I am able to apply many of its principles to everyday life. Case in point: painting. 

I don't consider myself *that* good when it comes to art. I mean, I know a bunch of people from the College of Fine Arts and certainly my art is a far cry from theirs. Also, come on, there's a reason why I studied engineering haha. Nevertheless, I keep pushing forward. I keep painting and making art because I like it and it makes me feel better. And here are some of my works recently:

Three days worth of backlog in my watercolor diary

I also made an attempt to paint my favorite hero these days: Peggy Carter. You ask me why she's my favorite? Well, you have to watch the Agent Carter mini-series to understand. (It's just eight episodes and it's amazing; you will not regret it.)

You see, we rarely get female heroes and I love Peggy because she's super smart, she can beat the crap out of guys heavier than her, she doesn't give up despite the misogyny in her male-dominated job, and she protects the man she loves (Steve Rogers a.k.a. Captain America) although she lost him eventually. I also love that Peggy is portrayed like a real person. She's tough as nails but when things get too difficult to handle, she also knows how to cry. Plus, she fights wearing red lipstick, a-line dresses, and high heels. Now, I guess, that's ultimate girl power.

It's like a grade school student's work but I'll keep painting anyway.

I painted flowers too.

And just today, after watching the latest Arrow episode, I just had to write the quote that stuck to me.

Color, Curry, Coffee

I've been practicing with my waterbrush by documenting my days. Below is for last Saturday's. Since Saturday is training day for kendo, everything written is kendo-related lol.

Last Sunday, my friends and I went to try CoCo Ichibanya curry house. The last time I was in Japan, I wasn't able to try it so I'm very glad that it's here in the Philippines. I absolutely love Japanese curry.

I ordered a chicken cutlet curry and went for the level 5 spicy. (It's the spiciest available in the Philippines. In Japan, they get up to level 10). Unfortunately, it wasn't spicy enough to make me sweat lol. However, it was really, really good!

After lunch, we went to Epic Coffee Roastery in Kapitolyo for coffee and to chat. I ordered a toasted marshmallow latte. The toasted marshmallow flavor was not very prominent but it was very good latte. I have no photos but the place is very beautiful and I'd really like to go back.

Epic's toasted marshmallow latte

Yesterday, I had dinner with a couple of my friends from UP Aggregates. We had dinner at Rib City (a new restaurant along Maginhawa Street) and then had coffee at Magpie Cafe (also in Maginhawa Street). I also brought them some homemade vanilla bean cheesecake.

my vanilla bean cheesecake and Magpie Cafe's mocha latte

Things That Need Practice

This week, I received the pastry blender that I ordered online and I couldn't resist not using it so I made Portuguese egg tarts today. Unfortunately the hot and humid weather made it difficult for me to attain a flaky crust but it tasted good nonetheless and my parents really liked it. Though I think I need to practice pie-making more!

Last Saturday, my friends and I went to Magpie Cafe in Maginhawa Street. They had a freedom [glass] wall and some glass markers there and I wrote this:

Needs more refinement/cleaning up but I'm proud of it haha

I also bought a new water-dispensing brush so I had some practice with it.

The writing above means "kiai". It's the term for the shouting that happens in martial arts. You know when martial artists yell "Hiyaaaaaah!", that is kiai. The idea is that the kiai releases a person's fighting spirit and I believe it also aids in proper breathing. Kendo is no exception from kiai.

I've been told by a couple of my seniors in kendo that my kiai is not loud enough. It was actually pretty funny for me because I've been told many times by friends that I have a loud voice. Then again, my friends were referring to my conversational voice haha. However, apparently, I don't shout loud enough, at least not enough for kendo. That's why I have to add kiai practice to my routine practice at home so that I can do louder and better kiai during the next training sessions. 

Yeah, basically, I need to practice shouting at home. I hope our neighbors don't get alarmed lol.

Crafty Weekend

Since it was Pi Day (3.14) last Saturday and we had lemons in the fridge, I made a lemon meringue pie with oatmeal-graham crust. I say it turned out pretty well, especially for a first time!

In the afternoon, after kendo training, I went to Cubao to buy materials for a padded shinai bag I've been meaning to sew. I was really tired when I got home but I was so excited to make the new shinai bag so I did.

It took me five hours to finish. I found it difficult sewing with thick padding and I must have abused my sewing machine. The bag looks a little bulky because I bought the thickest padding available. Nevertheless, it's so nice to look at and I love it. I love the adjustable strap as well!

The next day, Sunday, I was resolved on getting rest. However, I could not resist not using the leftover fabric because the amount was just perfect for a knee-length skirt and of course I want a new skirt!

Gathered in front, garterized at the back and has ribbons on the side that can be tied at the back. It probably would have been nicer if I used a wider waistband haha but no regrets!

I'm pretty excited to wear it to class this Friday!

Spring and New Beginnings

Last week, my dad went to Benguet for field work and because strawberries are in season, he brought home some strawberries from Baguio. My natural instinct, of course, was to do a strawberry baking spree.

Though I arrived home late last Friday night, I made these strawberry cheesecake muffins. They were quite tiring to make but they were a hit so I guess my staying up late and the headache that came the next day were worth it.

Sunday came, there were still strawberries in the fridge so I made strawberry shortcake. However, I didn't have whipping cream on hand (plus I don't exactly like whipped cream either) so I used Swiss meringue buttercream instead.

Last Saturday, I also bought a new sketchpad and since it's springtime (not that we have spring here in the tropics), I painted these flowers. It looks like a kid's work but I'm happy with it.

As for new beginnings (which spring signifies), I started learning something new: kendo (sometimes called "Japanese fencing"). Two Saturdays ago, I did a trial kendo class at the dojo where a couple of my college orgmates train. It was tiring and the muscle pain was terrible that it didn't go away until Thursday. However, I enjoyed it and it's stress-relieving. Last Saturday, I went to class again, signed up for membership and bought my own shinai (the bamboo stick/weapon that represents a sword). The muscle pain is much much less now  and I've been practicing my swings at home too.

This is the case of my shinai. I sewed a sakura charm into it so that I can easily identify which is mine whenever we're in the dojo. I'm planning on sewing a padded case because I take public transport and I might bump the shinai into things. I just need to buy some nice patterned fabric and padding material and then I can start sewing!