A wise man once said to me "What if you did everything you said you would?" (Mark Brewer, 2018). The mid-winter water in Japan is fairly nippy, even for a group of kiwis that religiously wear shorts year round. I knew I was in for a chilly dip when I saw the surfers wearing full body wet-suits, gloves and hoods.
Sitting on the Kamakura beach about to enjoy our lunches, we happily observed the hawks and crows scavenging in the distance. They seemed to be the replacement for the typical seagull beach dwellers. Poor samwise the unfortunate was about to engorge himself into the sweet embrace of his bento box when his food suddenly became prey to a pack of dive-bombing hawks. Needless to say, we all bolted. Sam abandoned his bento box in exchange for a pair of claw-free, still-functioning hands.
I've learned I've developed a sort of 'big dog' syndrome, seeing myself as smaller than I am. It wasn't until Sam's good friend and university sensei, Yuta Shinohara, pointed out that I was taller than every single fighter in the university that I realised that how I was viewing my opponents differed from reality. Fighting like I'm a big Under 81/90kg fighter, as opposed to a 73kg fighter, improved my fighting significantly. That's not to say I'm moving up, but if you believe you are powerful you can unlock your hidden strength. Using my height and reach advantage to establish more top and back grips, closing down the gaps to minimise space and towering above has taken my fighting level from being rag-dolled by most, to a competitive level where I can pick up the occasional throw. Capitalise on your strengths and your opponents weaknesses.
With one more week left in Japan , I'm excited to be home and start my final year of university, however I feel like I've made more progress in recent days than in the last 4 weeks. I can now be competitive with many of the fighters at the high school and university, but I know there is a large amount of development still needed. The big cloud floating around my head, is how to develop ways to maintain the challenge and progress while training in NZ and juggling the rest of my life. With a lot of brainstorming and problem solving, I'm confident I'll be able to sustain the level of training seen in Japan and continue to progress!